November 1, 2025
Turn on the takes
Screenwriter Eric Heisserer on Lights Out, the Rules of Horror
Fans brawl over 'horror rules' as Heisserer dodges the 'horror guy' label
TLDR: Screenwriter Eric Heisserer downplays his horror label while discussing Lights Out’s shadow-chasing monster and his quirky path from a rejection letter to a Blair Witch–funded first sale. Comments split between praising his range and arguing the short beat the feature, with jokes about electric bills and “rules of horror.”
Eric Heisserer says he’s not just a horror guy—and the comments erupted. Fans split into two camps: “stop pigeonholing him” vs. “own the crown, king.” Many praised his 56-script grind and the wild origin story where a rejection letter pushed him into screenwriting, while others dunked on remakes like The Thing and Elm Street. The reveal that Blair Witch profits basically bankrolled his first sale? Instant meme fuel: “found footage funded a found career.”
Debate got spicier over “rules of horror” versus pure dread. One side cheered Lights Out’s simple nightmare logic—a monster visible only in darkness—plus the clever light gags with neon signs and car headlights. The other side claimed the Lights Out short was scarier than the feature: “Three minutes, zero filler.” Several reminded everyone he also wrote arrival-bound sci‑fi epic Arrival, flexing range beyond jump scares.
Humor was relentless. “My electric bill after Lights Out” posts flooded in, and someone just commented “2016,” turning the thread into a time-capsule roast. Craft nerds swapped favorite William Goldman lines; casuals begged for “more stories, fewer remakes.” Meanwhile, a cheeky crowd asked for the soul-mate compass script, chanting, “Drop Compass, you coward!” The popcorn fight was loud, funny, and fierce.
Key Points
- •Eric Heisserer states he has written 56 feature scripts, with only eight in the horror genre, despite his reputation as a horror screenwriter.
- •Lights Out is based on David F. Sandberg’s three-minute short and features a creature visible only in darkness, prompting inventive light-based set pieces.
- •Heisserer’s early professional writing began with R. Talsorian’s tabletop game Cyberpunk; a rejection letter pushed him toward screenwriting.
- •He learned screenwriting using Final Draft and studying a William Goldman script bought at Barnes & Noble; his first script, Compass, took four months and 118 pages.
- •He sold his tenth script to Artisan Entertainment in 2000 and jokes that Blair Witch profits may have funded the deal; he also has Arrival coming with director Denis Villeneuve.