Two lighthouse keepers are left stranded on a small island in New England in the late 19th century, and every day that passes, they sink into paranoia.
Willem Dafoe vs Robert Pattinson is an amazing psychological horror that is not one(?) First things first… The story is loosely based on an actual event where two Welsh lighthouse keepers, Thomas and Thomas, were left stranded on a lighthouse during a severe storm, and they went berzerk – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalls_Lighthouse#Smalls_Lighthouse_Tragedy
The extreme and adverse weather conditions seen in the film are real! Cast, crew, and equipment suffered big time from the freezing temperatures and the strong winds and, only for finishing it, they deserve a big round of applause. For, ultimately, creating a masterpiece, they deserve an even bigger one. Especially the Egger Brothers, who researched and studied everything you see on screen: From how to make a lighthouse to the 19th century New England sailors’ dialect to how the mermaid genitals would probably look like (and the sound department, which… naturally and practically created Dafoe’s farts). The film cost approximately $4M, it made just over $17M, and a tiny part of that budget was given to create fake seagulls. So, no seagull (nor human) got killed while filming.
26 wins, 96 nominations, and 1 Oscar nomination for photography gave the film an astonishing early photography look. Dafoe and Pattinson go against each other’s throats and deliver performances you wouldn’t believe. We all know that Dafoe is an incredible actor. Here (after a series of brilliant performances), Pattinson establishes himself as one of the best actors of his age, and we all try to simply erase The Twilight Saga franchise from our minds. I take my hat off to both of them. In an interview, Robert Eggers stated, “Nothing good can happen when two men are trapped alone in a giant phallus”. Their performances prove him wrong (wink).
As a huge Lovecraftian fan, I was happily shocked when the psychological horror started taking a turn towards… Sorry, no spoilers! See for yourselves and try to piece together the one-eye crow, the mermaid, the… something else keeps vaguely appearing. Last but not least, how does the light connect everything, and what might it hide?
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