How can I make indoor lighting less uniform? I will try and make this question as specific as I can. I have this room:



However, the lighting in this room feels very flat and lifeless. This should be a dark and sinister room - home to the occult and demons.

I attempted to light the room using multiple lights around the room



however this does not manage to create the sinister lighting I am looking for. I also tried using shadows where possible, which had a limited improvement.



Below is an example of a well-lit, occultish room taken from the web which has a similar atmosphere to what I would like to achieve.


What can be done to make the lighting in my room more sinister and less uniform?
I have decided to post my solution to the problem:


Always, if possible, make it so that something is occluding your light. That way, the shadows look nice.

From another angle:

Look at the bookcase in the bottom right of the image as a perfect demonstration of my example, as you can see the shadows intersecting from the lights either side of the bookcase.

Also, bloom and occlusion really complete the look. There is absolutely no way that the shot would look anywhere near as good without either one of them.