The Lighthouse (2019)

The Lighthouse (2019) is a claustrophobic, hallucinatory drama-horror about two lighthouse keepers — the taciturn Ephraim Winslow and the domineering Thomas Wake — stranded on a remote, storm-lashed New England isle in the 1890s. Over four weeks of brutal labor, isolation and bitter antagonism, the men’s resentments and secrets gnaw at each other until reality frays: bad omens, relentless squalls, booze-fueled visions and animalistic hunger push their fragile sanity toward a terrifying breaking point. Seeing the film is an immersive sensory experience: shot in stark black-and-white with tight, boxy framing, it traps you in the island’s wind, salt spray and constant foghorn wail. The sound design is oppressive and tactile, the cinematography severe and mythic, and the mood alternates between bleak humor and mounting dread. You’ll feel the rhythm of the monotonous chores turning into paranoia, the physical strain of cold, wet days, and the claustrophobic intimacy of two men with nowhere to escape each other — until the line between hallucination, folklore and brutal reality blurs. Powerful, raw performances drive the piece, and its uncanny visuals and ambiguous ending leave the viewer unsettled and thinking long after the credits. This is a slow-burn, atmospheric film best appreciated by viewers who like psychological intensity, maritime myth, and stylistic filmmaking that prizes mood and ambiguity over straightforward answers.

Actors: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman

Director: Robert Eggers

Runtime: 109 min

Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Horror

6.6 /10 83 /100 7.4 /10 7.4 /10