Review #149: The Lighthouse (2019)


This review was originally written in 2022.

Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #4- The Lighthouse (2019)

This was my second time watching this film, and I'll definitely say I appreciated it more this time than the first time. (I still have no freaking clue what was happening for most of it, and the ending still makes not a lick of sense to me, but I can at least see how deliberate it all was.)

Like the director's previous film, The VVitch, this film is an incredibly slow burn and if you don't go in with the right mindset you're probably not going to have a great time. It's such a specific product- it's a movie inspired by a real-world event you probably haven't heard of, created using a specific type of film with a specific aspect ratio to create a very specific look, the actors were taught incredibly specific dialects for their lines (including instruction like "say the third sentence of your second line 75% faster") in order to create a specific place and time for the dialogue, and the story is an amalgam of so many different elements that all come together in what could be called cohesive (or what could be called nonsense) depending on the viewer.

The actual plot of the film is hard to really talk about (two guys work as lighthouse keepers, a storm comes in and strands them, weird Lovecraftian stuff happens, "or does it?") but I don't really think that's the point; much more interesting to delve into is the conditions under which the film was made, the restrictions that were put on the actors, the methods the actors used to portray their characters, and so on- apparently the film they were using to shoot The Lighthouse was this (again, very specific) type that needed WAAAAYYYY more light than normal film, so in most scenes the actors were basically being blinded the whole time, unable to see each other, because the "kerosene" lamps on set were actually specially-made halogens that were like forty times brighter than they look due to the nature of the filmstock used. Such a weird thing to do to make your movie, but when you're going for such a specific look and money is no object, I guess you might as well?

I will say: a lot of this movie is very gross (lots of bodily fluids, mermaid genitals, et cetera) but none of it overstays its welcome. The Lighthouse is interesting, if inscrutable, and if you have the patience and determination to enjoy it, then enjoy it you will.

Overall Rating: 7/10 Cisterns that Taste of the 'Ead

Favorite Quote: "Why'd yeh spill yer beans, Tommy?"

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