When we caught up with David F. Sandberg prior to the Los Angeles Film Festival Premiere of Lights Out, we learned so much cool stuff that we’ve broken the interview up into bit. In our final piece, we reveal Sandberg’s plans for a sequel, while he also shares his inspirations and favorite gag.

In Lights Out, opening this Friday, “When her little brother, Martin, experiences the same events that once tested her sanity, Rebecca works to unlock the truth behind the terror, which brings her face to face with an entity that has an attachment to their mother, Sophie.”

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When asked about plans for a sequel, Sandberg talked about the light sources, and revealed a pretty cool spoiler (warning!):

“There’s just so much fun to have with the concept. You could do ten more movies. So many possibilites for gags with different light sources. One of my favorites in the film is when she’s going for a guy with a gun. Every time he fires at her, the muzzle flash makes her blink out of existance for a split second only to return and keep coming at him.”

While no particular film inspired Lights Out, there are quite a few films that he used for reference because he had a very specific kind of “darkness” he wanted to capture on film:

“I don’t know if there’s any particular movies that inspired it. I used ‘The Haunting’ from 1963 as a reference for the DP because I love the cinematography in that one, especially the cinemascope compositions. Other visual references were ‘The Descent’ and the ‘Evil Dead’ reboot because those films are not afraid to go dark. I hate “Hollywood darkness” where everything is just blue light instead of black darkness. I used ‘The Descent’ and ‘The Cave’ as the two comparisons of that. The Descent feels like they only had those light sources there and as a result it feels very scary and claustrophobic. ‘The Cave’ is fully lit with blue light despite the fact that they’re supposed to be trapped in a damn cave. I want my movie darkness to be pitch black so you don’t know what’s hiding in there.

“There were a couple of movies that I had to watch to make sure that we didn’t rip off as well. One was ‘Darkness Falls’ but the tooth fairy was just hurt by light, she didn’t disappear in light. It still has a similar “you have to stay in the light to be safe” mechanic though but they’re two very different movies.

“The other was ‘The Babadook,'” he continues, “because from what I’d heard it sounded very similar to “a little boy with a crazy mom who has an invisible friend”. Again though it turned out to be a very different film. I doubt there will be comparisons.”

[Related Post] Lights Out: David F. Sandberg On Creating Suspense and Terror, and Avoiding “Fake Scares”

Here’s the full synopsis for the film, which was produced by The Conjuring and Insidious‘ James Wan: “When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.”

Here’s a bit from Kalyn Corrigan’s review out of the Los Angeles Film Festival premiere:

“Director David F. Sandberg actually understands how to send chills down an audience’s spine. His charcoal figure who basks in the darkness creates a petrifying atmosphere whenever she appears onscreen. Her crooked movements stand out like a stutter as she walks stiffly down the hall, making her appear less and less human every time she pops up in a quiet corner, or a whispers evil instructions from within a pitch black closet.”