The 2000’s faltered heavily under a mass amount of half brain remakes and sequels for the horror genre, until Darren Aronofsky proved the genre didn’t have to be as straight forward as standard cliches with his psychological film, Black Swan. Ever since then, it feels as if new coming directors have taken great care with their stories to rebuild horror for a new generation. The Lighthouse is probably the greatest way to conclude an amazing decade of thought provoking works.
Robert Eggers, whom had also given us the incredibly haunting The Witch, returns for another take on old school fear. Led by only two very strong actors, Willem DaFoe and Robert Pattinson, the Academy Awards should reconsider their differences they’ve had with the once tarnished genre.
Pattinson fully encompasses the raw emotions and paranoia that come along with seclusion. Eggers harnesses his passion for horror films of the 40s, as the entire picture, filmed in black and white mends disturbing imagery with sexual repression and builds its terror unlike any other.
Like most A24 releases, the slow burn and period film language/accents will turn away the less patient viewers but true film fans will love the careful eye to detail and impressive performances.
The ambiguity and tense score make The Lighthouse another notch into the mind of Indie Horror filmmaking that continue to dare the audience to question what they’re seeing, rather than regurgitating cliched plot-lines. It’s a true nightmare of mental deterioration.
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