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1[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/davidfsandberg.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:325:Not an actual smasher of ponies.]]
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4David F. Sandberg (born January 21, 1981 in Jönköping) is a Swedish filmmaker. He is the older brother of indie game developer Joakim "Creator/{{Konjak}}" Sandberg.
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6He first started his career working on animated shorts and documentaries in Sweden. The NoBudget horror short films he directed and uploaded to Website/YouTube under the alias [[https://www.youtube.com/user/ponysmasher "ponysmasher"]] garnered a significant following, with the second one in particular, ''Lights Out'', receiving considerable acclaim. This success caught the attention of Creator/NewLineCinema's producers, who hired him to direct a [[Film/LightsOut2016 feature-length version]] of ''Lights Out''; it came out to great success, grossing nearly $150 million on a $5 million budget.
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8Sandberg gained further success with Film/TheConjuringUniverse film ''Film/AnnabelleCreation'', released in 2017. The same year, he was announced as the director of the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse film ''[[Film/Shazam2019 SHAZAM!]]''; its critical and commercial success led to the creation of a sequel, ''Film/ShazamFuryOfTheGods'', which Sandberg also directed.
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10He is also notably JustForFun/OneOfUs, considering he mostly started off on [=YouTube=], and he likes to humorously [[TeasingCreator tease]] his projects on social media. Among his various interests, he's a fan of WebVideo/RedLetterMedia, and personally asked RLM member Jay Bauman for a review of ''Lights Out'' on Twitter. He got that review...[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor but unfortunately, Jay wasn't kind in his assessment]]. For better or worse, this incident made him an occasional recurring joke on ''WebVideo/HalfInTheBag'', though both Jay and fellow RLM co-host Mike Stoklasa have clarified they have nothing against him and think he's a nice guy.
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12Speaking of [=YouTube=], Sandberg is still very active on his channel, where he provides illuminating insight on the process of theatrical filmmaking and clears up some common misconceptions about the production of major releases.
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14Sandberg married actress Lotta Losten in 2013. She has acted in several of his shorts and appeared in both the short and feature versions of ''Lights Out'', as well as in ''SHAZAM!''.
15----
16!!Filmography:
17[[index]]
18* ''Film/{{Lights Out|2016}}'' (2016)
19* ''Film/AnnabelleCreation'' (2017)
20* ''[[Film/Shazam2019 SHAZAM!]]'' (2019) [[note]]also voices Mr. Mind[[/note]]
21* ''Film/ShazamFuryOfTheGods'' (2022)
22[[/index]]
23
24!!Tropes applying to the works of ''ponysmasher''
25* AndIMustScream: Notably ''Pictured'' and ''Not Alone'', both ending terribly for Lotta: ''Pictured'' ending with [[spoiler: Lotta becoming trapped in the creepy picture and the ghostly entity taking her place]] and ''Not Alone'' ending with [[spoiler: Lotta being stuck in a comatose state, with the entity ''with her'']].
26* TheChewToy: ''Lotta'' in all his shorts to the point of RunningGag where she's haunted by a supernatural force, although David has put himself as this from time to time in his shorts, notably with SelfDeprecation humor.
27* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: ''Not Alone'' has Lotta be attacked by the demon who entered her home and it ends with David coming home to find her in a comatose state, and judging from Lotta's internal monologue, it's made clear the entity is in her mind as well...]]
28** NoEnding: Some of his shorts have this, notably ''Lights Out'' and ''Cam Closer''.
29* NoBudget: His shorts: He goes for super cheap and open source software as much as he can and encourages people to do what they can to make movies, regardless if they don't have "the proper equipment" as seen in his "How to Make a Shitty Dolly" video.
30* SelfDeprecation: He's done Website/{{Letterboxd}} reviews for all of his theatrical films, and had given them the lowest possible ratings with reviews that alternate between legitimate criticisms and sarcastic nitpicks.
31* TitleDrop: ''Not Alone in Here'' has one near the ending. [[spoiler:Although the title seems at first to refer to Lotta's character not being alone in her home, the end reveal is much darker. Her internal monolog seems almost to offer a HopeSpot, since it's clear that she can't be dead if she's narrating her own story. Instead, it's revealed that she's alive, but trapped in her own body. And she's not alone ''in there'']].
32* JustForFun/OneOfUs: Sandberg started out on Website/YouTube and continued making videos for his channel even after directing several prominent franchise movies in Hollywood. He is also active on {{Website/Reddit}}, sometimes showing up to personally debunk false rumours about his own projects.
33* StringyHairedGhostGirl: 99% of all the spirits in his shorts are this, although there are times they're just a HumanoidAbomination, as seen in ''Coffer''.

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