David F. Sandberg Directed Lights Out Studio Horror Hit
- Sandberg’s 2016 studio horror breakout Lights Out paved the way for a new generation of digital creators moving from online shorts to major studio features, The Hollywood Reporter...
- The Swedish native made the original two-and-a-half-minute film on virtually no budget, starring his wife, Lotta Losten, as a woman stalked by a mysterious figure in the dark.
- The couple credits the short’s global appeal to its lack of dialogue.
David F. Sandberg’s 2016 studio horror breakout Lights Out paved the way for a new generation of digital creators moving from online shorts to major studio features, The Hollywood Reporter reported on October 21, 2026.
The YouTube Short That Sparked a Hollywood Deal
The Swedish native made the original two-and-a-half-minute film on virtually no budget, starring his wife, Lotta Losten, as a woman stalked by a mysterious figure in the dark. After winning best director in the Bloody Cuts Horror Challenge, the project gained sudden traction when a Reddit user shared a link, pushing page views from 8,000 to more than a million.
The couple credits the short’s global appeal to its lack of dialogue. It just floated around the world because I don’t say anything,
Losten told The Hollywood Reporter.
Box Office Success and Production Adjustments
Producer Lawrence Grey saw the short and collaborated with James Wan to bring the concept to the big screen alongside screenwriter Eric Heisserer. Warner Bros. released the feature on July 22, 2016, starring Teresa Palmer, Billy Burke, Gabriel Bateman, and Maria Bello.
There are a couple of standout kills and some solid jump-scare setups. The Wendigo stuff and the underground sequences have atmosphere, and the gore is unapologetic. But the constant resets undercut the stakes—once you know death is temporary, the tension drops. It never quite… pic.twitter.com/s07RiX1zdh
During test screenings, low scores initially baffled the creative team until they removed the final few moments showing the spirit returning. The scores went up 30 points,
Sandberg recalled. It was like, ‘I guess that’s the ending.’
The film ultimately grossed $148 million globally against a $4 million budget.
Sequel Plans and Advice for Creators
With a sequel still in development, Sandberg — who later directed Shazam! — advises emerging filmmakers to keep producing work without waiting for guarantees. Keep creating because you never know what’s going to resonate,
he said. We didn’t know that Lights Out was going to work.