Lights Out

Just a few short months ago, a fairly tense and exciting low-budget feature was released in theaters. "Lights Out" became a massive hit with its high-concept of a vengeful spirit that exists within shadows and darkness... audiences were hooked by its clever scares, solid visuals and competent atmosphere building. So much so in fact that a sequel is already well on the way, and its up-and-coming director David F. Sandberg has been tapped to helm the anticipated in-the-works sequel "Annabelle 2."

But lets take a look back just a few short years to the humble beginnings of this project. Back to 2013, when Sandberg unleashed a short-film of the same name onto the masses. A short film that of course went on to become the basis of this bonafide new hit.

"Lights Out" (2013) is at its core a very simplistic and elegant style experiment in fear. Lacking any complex narrative or proper character development, it instead uses its short running length and lack of dialog to build a highly effective and chilling sequence of terror through only expert use of lighting, suggestive camera angles and moody visuals. We follow a young woman (Lotta Losten, actress and wife of director Sandberg) preparing to retire to bed for the night, when she notices a mysterious silhouette in the distance whenever she turns off her hallway light... A figure that is seemingly staring right at her, waiting to strike. As tensions build, and the woman's fear grows, we swiftly move towards a startling and wickedly eerie climax...

A prime example of how to appropriately build an increasing and all- encompassing sense of dread, the short is amongst the strongest I've seen in recent memory. It's very deliberate and cleverly uses its time wisely, neither stringing out the short longer than it needs to be or needlessly abbreviating it. It knows just how long to take to allow the fear to grow to a boiling point and when to nail us with the scares and jumps. This is especially admirable in today's modern world of horror, where jumps without establishment and loud noises without atmosphere are taking over at a very alarming rate. It's refreshing to see a new filmmaker who knows to take just enough time before he strikes.

The short is not without a collection of flaws however, mild though they may be in the grand scheme of things. I did find that it lacks rewatchability due to its very short running time that is built around a singular sequence. Once you've seen it, you've wised up to the game, and thus it will never have that same impact on subsequent viewings. I also did find the climactic moments (which I will not spoil) to be a tad underwhelming. It was not quite enough of a payoff, ending with more of a whimper than a scream. Still, these are only minor flaws in an otherwise incredibly strong and stylish short. It's filled to burst with atmospheric tension and heart- stopping suspense, and there's a good chance that after watching it alone in the dark, you'll go digging through the closet or the attic, desperately searching for that old night light from when you were a child that you haven't used in years...

I give "Lights Out" (2013) a very good 8 out of 10. It's available free-to-view online, and it comes highly recommended from this fan of horror and suspense!

A woman is about to go to bed when she notices something very weird and more than a little disturbing: whenever she turns out the hallway light, she can see the silhouette of a figure standing at the end of the hall, but when she turns the light back on, there is no-one there. The final time she turns out the light, the freaky figure has moved a lot closer. Taking no chances, the woman tapes the switch in the on position and gets into bed, but is terrified to hear strange noises in the hallway, and to see the light go out…

There's no shortage of horror shorts on YouTube that use their brief running time to creep out the viewer before attempting to give them a coronary; Lights Out uses this well-worn format (providing not one, but two potential heart attack moments), but still proves very effective thanks to skillful direction by David F. Sandberg, who wrings every last ounce of possible tension from his tale, and a great central performance from the actress playing the unfortunate victim of the supernatural creature. Lights Out might be predictable stuff—one knows full well how the film is going to end—but it does its job well, effortlessly scaring the bejeezuz out of the viewer as expected.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for making my work colleague almost soil himself with fright. The big wuss!

I cant get enough of short horror films, and i saw the feature film based on this and frankly this was way better.

My reasons being as a short the story goes better this mysterious entity is lurking in the safeness of your House and you can just see it when you turn off the lights. Soner or later the lights will come out and walking away outside being dark well you feel trapped.

Again this Is why it works its short and scary it goes right to the point your are waiting for the next thing to happened with a few minutes left waiting for that twist to happened.

Shorts are the best way to show new and fresh ideas in horror.

At first sigh, nothing new. same thrill, chill and game of light as source of fear/tension. and the familiar end. but the film has a virtue who is unfair to ignore - Lotta Losten. after you see the short films of Sandberg, she becomes one of presence real impressive. for the image of ordinary woman, silent in many situations, innocent alwayys, front to different unusual challenges. result - a form of portrait of Sandberg art , present in few short films but giving to his wife the right role who becomes, after a walk across short films, axis of a fresh universe of horror.

His favorite fear to develop is by far that of the dark. Most of Sandberg's work revolve around light, the absence of it, the way fear slithers through your bones when the bulb starts flickering.

When you lose your most important sense, in a already unfriendly territory, how will you react? What will you do? Putting a woman as the lead character (not just because she is his wife) makes for a deeper, more emotional impact.

A contrast between whats real and what's not, with a short fight for the light to stay on and then acceptance.

Cheers!