Critical popcorn

There’s a unique atmosphere to Robert Eggers‘ The Lighthouse. With striking black and white cinematography by Jarin Blaschke, an atmospheric score from Mark Korven and the entirely committed, eccentric performances from its two lead actors, The Lighthouse is an evocative slice of vintage psychological horror.

The story sees Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) join experienced ‘wickie’ Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) to look after a lighthouse on a remote New England island. As a storm builds outside, a different kind builds inside as the two men wrestle with their angst, their desires and their loneliness. There’s enchantment in the light at the top, and Ephraim is desperate to see it.

Released in January 2020 in the UK, The Lighthouse oddly feels like the perfect lockdown film, with two characters trapped together in a confined space doing the same daily routine and losing all sense of time and sanity. The horror in The Lighthouse is the psychology of man: Thomas flaunts his power over the titular lighthouse to Ephraim, being the only one of the two to see the light at the top, while Ephraim is left to do the more manual labour – at one point having Thomas’ faeces literally fly back in his face in the wind. Throughout the film, Ephraim is restrained and bitter, lusting after a mermaid he dreams of, despising the man he’s trapped with and trying to murder a seagull to expel his rage.

This feeling of entrapment is further bolstered by the framing. Shot in the near-square aspect ratio of 1.19:1, the film forces Dafoe and Pattinson closer together in wider frames, and is able to fully focus on their faces in the close-ups. There’s this palpable feeling that there is no escape from the island, and we are drawn further into the psyche of the two leads as what’s real and unreal blurs together. Ephraim’s visions are bizarre, Lovecraftian nightmares, while Thomas’ personality veers wildly between gruffness and lunacy. There’s a surreal quality to The Lighthouse which feels nightmarish: the sort of dream that traps you with no clear escape and no foothold in reality.

Of course, a huge part of the film’s success is the go-for-broke performances of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, with both actors throwing themselves into their eccentric characters through a surreal series of dreamlike events. Co-writer/director Robert Eggers‘ emphasis on era-appropriate dialogue adds to the film’s slightly otherworldly atmosphere, whilst feeling historically accurate for a story set in the 1890’s. Having employed a similar mix of era-appropriate dialogue and surreal imagery in his previous film The Witch, and more recently in the more violent, atypical blockbuster The Northman, Eggers has clearly found his niche as a writer/director.

The Lighthouse is a cinematic experience unlike any other. It’s funny, surreal, horrific and whimsical, and completely unforgettable. It pulls from a variety of influences, including early cinema, Greek mythology and an unfinished Edgar Allan Poe story into something truly unique. It might not be for everyone, but it is well worth watching with the curtains drawn and the sound turned up to 11. Just be careful not to spill yer beans…

Special Features

This new release of The Lighthouse from Arrow Video features the film in 4K UHD for the first time, with a Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) presentation approved by director Robert Eggers. It’s the best the film has ever looked, with added details on faces, costumes and sets, bolstered by a new Dolby Vision grade which subtly enhances the high-contrast monochrome cinematography from Jarin Blaschke. It’s not a film I’d recommend watching on a bright sunny day, with its strong emphasis on shadows, but it looks fantastic, whilst still maintaining the 35mm filmic texture throughout.

There’s also a wealth of special features on this new 4K UHD release. Carried over from Universal Pictures’ 2020 Blu-ray release, there’s an audio commentary by co-writer/director Robert Eggers; two short deleted scenes (Sweeping the Galley and Young Undressing); and A Dark & Stormy Tale – a three-part documentary on the making of The Lighthouse. New for this Arrow Video release are an audio commentary by authors Guy Adams and Alexandra Benedict; Art of Darkness: Making The Lighthouse – a brand new, in-depth documentary on the film, its production, themes and influences, featuring new interviews with co-writer/director Robert Eggers, director of photography Jarin Blaschke, production designer Craig Lathrop, costume designer Linda Muir and authors Guy Adams and Alexandra Benedict; and The Lighthouse Next Door: The Consuming House Tale of Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse – a brand new visual essay on the film and its folklore influences by author and critic Kat Ellinger. The film’s theatrical trailers are also included alongside an image gallery.

The Limited Edition set from Arrow Video includes packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeffrey Alan Love, a 60-page perfect bound book featuring new writing on the film by Simon Abrams, Wickham Clayton, Martyn Conterio and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, a fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeffrey Alan Love, and six double-sided collector’s postcards.

The Lighthouse 4K UHD is released on 12 June 2023 and is available to pre-order here or from Arrow Video.