A Child Protective Services agent questions Rebecca about Martin's living conditions, and Rebecca tells the official that Sophie is taking antidepressants. The nurse is unable to get in touch with Sophie to inform her of this, so Paul's stepdaughter (Martin's older half-sibling) Rebecca is called into the school nurse's office instead. Shortly thereafter Martin begins to have trouble staying awake at school. Sophie notices Martin and comforts him about the event, but as Martin goes back to bed he notices a strange figure in the shadow behind Sophie, and locks himself in his bedroom out of fear. Some time later Paul's son, Martin, witnesses his mother, Sophie, talking to something in the dark. As he tries to run away, he locks himself into an office, but is killed after the lights go out. After she leaves, Paul encounters the woman as well. In a textile factory during closing hours, after an employee named Esther says goodbye to her boss Paul, she encounters a silhouette of a strange woman with claw-like hands when the lights are off, but she cannot see it when the lights are on.

The film received positive reviews from critics, with many praising the direction, screenplay, acting, cinematography and musical score, and grossed $148 million against a budget of $4.9 million. The film had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 8, 2016, and was released in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2016, by Warner Bros. Principal photography for the film began in June 2015 in Los Angeles. After the short film's success, Sandberg announced a feature film adaptation based on his short film. In the film, when a terrifying force arises from her family's past, a woman must protect her young stepbrother from a spirit that kills its victims in the dark. It is based on Sandberg's 2013 short film of the same name and features Lotta Losten, who starred in the short. It stars Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Billy Burke, and Maria Bello. Sandberg in his directorial debut, produced by Lawrence Grey, James Wan, and Eric Heisserer and written by Heisserer. Lights Out is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by David F.

Lights out short film director