It’s all about the quality of light, not so much the amount of it when shooting a low light indoor photograph.
Hard light, from the sun for example, casts heavy deep, dark shadows which can make any objects that fall in their path underexposed.
Good low light photographers pay attention to things like this. They already know what they want their shot to look like and so wait for the best time of day (if using natural light). Or you can black out a room and use adjustable LED light panels to set up your own low key shots.