Directed by Robert Eggers
For all the hand-wringing over the fate of modern horror, there have been some insanely good horror directors appearing seemingly out of nowhere these past few years. Ari Aster, Jordan Peele, Jennifer Kent, these people all caused waves in the horror community when they arrived, just the same as Robert Eggers did with his first film, The Witch. An effortlessly tense period piece, The Witch stunned audiences with how easily Eggers seemed to figure out exactly what to do to make everyone super uncomfortable. Great speculation followed as to how Eggers would follow up such a movie. Now that The Lighthouse is here, does it live up to the strong start of The Witch? Read on to find out…but the answer is yes.
Visually intense and in beautiful black and white, The Lighthouse is the charming tale of two wickies (lighthouse keepers), one veteran Salty Sea Dog played by Willem Dafoe and one quiet newcomer played by Robert Pattinson, who find their sanity tested after they get trapped on their island workplace. Unfortunately, I can’t give much more detail because the story is rather simple. That is not a critique or a downside, just a fact.
Time To Gush.
Wow. Just wow. Usually, I try to pick a specific thing to talk about after the summary but really all I want to do now is gush. This is one of those very rare films where it feels like it was made with me specifically in mind. It combines my favorite things: Willem Dafoe committing completely to a strange role, Robert Pattinson proving he’s a great actor yet again, isolated location horror, absurdism, disgusting visuals, deceptively simple storylines, great sound design, and the list goes on. I was so happy that this is getting a release in mainstream theaters that I practically skipped out of the auditorium.
Throws A Lot Of Curveballs
One thing that really sticks out about the film is how often it does things that aren’t what you would typically what you would expect from a film like this. Sure, it’s in artsy black and white but there’s an abundance of downright disgusting stuff happening in those beautiful frames. The usual ‘oh they start out friendly enough but find their relationship worn down as time passes’ thing doesn’t happen at all, Pattinson looks sick of Dafoe’s shit the first time we see them together and I had no idea what was going to happen between them or when. Hell, even bodily functions that typically happen offscreen and go unaddressed are plot points.
Just See The Damn Thing
I could go on all day talking about how much I love The Lighthouse, but I will try to contain myself. Maybe not everyone would share the same affinity I have for everything going on in this film but to me, The Lighthouse is a masterpiece. Every aspect flawlessly executed to bring to life a horrific and at times darkly comic look into maritime madness, I have no doubt in my mind that The Lighthouse is my movie of the year for 2019. Usually, I’d say that you should only see this type of movie if you’re into atmospheric black and white stuff but I’m not going to do that. See this movie. If you like horror, if you like grotesquerie, if you like great performances, just see this movie. I think you’ll enjoy it. And if you don’t, well, you can just call me an asshole in the comments.
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