Sophie seems to talk to someone or something hidden in a dark wardrobe. A boy called Martin (Gabriel Bateman) calls out for help after seeing his mum Sophie (Maria Bello) falling into deep depression and schizophrenia.

Three minutes in, the scene with his wife from the short film is introduced. And the pressure was on to not disappoint. Needless to say, all the fans of the short film went to watch the feature. He avoided the pitfalls of the super-production machine and instead, created an intimate supernatural story. Luckily, Sandberg managed to keep his sanity and his original vision in line. The pressure on Sandberg was enormous making a film at home with your wife is far more comfortable than the Hollywood way of filming. In 2016, it was released under the same title: LIGHTS OUT. In 2015, Sandberg and his wife moved to L.A. The feature film had to be made however at low cost with only a five million dollar budget. Meanwhile, LIGHTS OUT (the short film) went viral online (reaching over 1 million views), was selected in film competitions and won best short film in 2014 at FRIGHT METER AWARDS. The couple loved ‘DIY filmmaking’ so much so they decided to make more short films such as: SEE YOU SOON (2014), NOT SO FAST (2014), ATTIC PANIC (2015) and CLOSET SPACE (2016).

At the time, Sandberg and his wife had no idea that it would take them as far as it did. The short film LIGHTS OUT (2:47 minutes) was released on VIMEO and YouTube in 2013. She puts the lights back on and sees nothing, but each time she switches the lights off the creature appears closer and closer… The concept of his story is very simple: Lotta Lotsen (the film director’s wife) switches off the lights and sees the silhouette of a terrifying naked woman. What do you do if you have a strong idea for a short film but no funding to make it? You make it yourself at home, in your flat, with your wife.

Lights out full movie youtube