10 More Great Horror Movies Under 90 Minutes

10. Lights Out - 81 Minutes

In 2013, David F. Sandberg released a spooky short called Lights Out. Despite being under three minutes, it was scarier than almost any movie released that year.

Due to the short's positive reception, Sandberg was given funding to adapt Lights Out into a feature.

The film centres around a mentally ill woman called Sophie who discovers she and her children are being pursued by a spirit who can only be seen in shadow.

Although the effects in the short were very simple, this was due to budgetary concerns. Because this feature had a lot more money behind it, it would've been easy for Sandberg to rely on CGI for the supernatural sequences. Fortunately, the esteemed filmmaker focused more on practical effects and authentic lightning, to make the paranormal scenes more convincing.

What makes Lights Out scarier than the traditional horror film is how it highlights the drama with the family more than the metaphysical. If we saw a ghost every five minutes, we would desensitised to it.

Because Lights Out emphasises Sophie's struggle with her mental instability, you get invested in her plight, which makes far more unexpected when her family is suddenly attacked by a killer ghost.