Questioning her mother's sanity, Rebecca takes Martin to her apartment, much to Sophie's despair. Sophie tells Rebecca she has no right to lecture her since she also abandoned her like Rebecca's father. Rebecca gets into an argument with Sophie when she realizes her mother is not taking her medication. Rebecca assures him that Diana is not real, and that she had also heard their mother talk to the imaginary girl when she was a child. Martin tells his sister that their mother has been talking to a woman named "Diana". A Child Protective Services agent questions Rebecca about Martin's living conditions, and Rebecca tells the official that Sophie has depression and 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. Martin begins to have trouble with staying awake at school. 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, witness his mother, Sophie, talking to something in the dark. After she leaves, her boss Paul encounters the woman and tries to run away, but he is killed. In a textile factory during closing hours, an employee named Esther encounters a silhouette of a strange woman with claw-like hands when the lights are off, but 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 film adaptation based on his short film. In the film, a young woman must confront her childhood fears to protect her brother from a vengeful supernatural entity holding a mysterious attachment to their mother. 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, 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.