Producer James Wan and Director David Sandberg Talk 'Lights Out'
The official trailer for Lights Out revealed a terrifying presence driven by the most base conjurer of emotion: the darkness. As kids, we need the light on. As adults, its hard to ignore the fact that a whisper or a shadow can't induce that same fear when the lights are out.
David Sandberg's 2013 short film Lights Out went viral, playing off this idea by telling the story of a woman who is terrorised by something lurking in the darkness of her home. This something only appears when the lights are off. The short runs for under three minutes, and it drew the attention of The Conjuring director James Wan, whose name is mentioned whenever the topic of great horror comes to the fore.
Now, Sandberg has had the chance to direct a full-length version of his story. Wan's excitement for the film comes from the opportunity it offered Sandberg. "I'm always excited when I can discover new filmmakers. With my production company Atomic Monster, I want to give new filmmakers teh chance to do what I did [with Saw]."
Sandberg described the call he received to his home in Sweden as "surreal," and stepping out onto the set was teh first time he'd ever done so as the director of a big budget Hollywood film.
"In a lot of films you have a kid who has an invisible friend... I thought it would be more scary if it was the parent who had the invisible friend," Sandberg said. From there, Lights Out only grew.
Sandberg stated that having Wan involved helped a lot, and cited one particular instance where it made all the difference. One scene, Sandberg wanted to shoot in only candlelight, but the production team shot it down, stating it was impossible. Later, Wan visited the set, before that scene was shot, and made the same suggestion. And the team were all for it.
Sandberg seems to have taken it good-naturedly. "So having James [on set] was good in that way," he laughed.
Lights Out opens July 22.
Source: Collider
