As further proof all modern films are rubbish thanks to leftists and their woke agenda, here's the truly excellent horror dark comedy The Lighthouse (2019).
This is like The Odd Couple (1968) meets Lovecraftian horror. Directed by Robert Eggers, it's about Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson in a lighthouse, alone, going mad.
It makes for one hell of a weird experience, with its monochromatic overlay ramping up the isolation and dark comedy. It's a modern classic.
Madness, Drunkenness, and The Lighthouse Full of Lovecraftian Nightmares
This is a simple plot. Set in the 1890s, Ephraim Winslow (Pattinson) and Thomas Wake (Dafoe) begin a four-week spell as lighthouse keepers off the coast of New England, America.
Initially, the elder statesman Wake is a bit of a bully, bossing Winslow around and forcing him through endless menial, backbreaking tasks.
Winslow is muted and subservient and, despite his obvious dislike of Wake's obnoxious ways, he gets the job done.
It also becomes apparent there's something a bit odd about the island. He finds a small piece of artwork depicting a mermaid and then suffers hallucinations.
Meanwhile, Wake seems to be having some bizarre ceremony each night up in the lighthouse's lantern room (from which he's banned Winslow entering).
The first half of The Lighthouse builds up a sense of some routine and normality. The pair get on sort of okay, but a lingering sense of casual hatred seems to rear itself.
However, on the day they're due to leave an enormous storm develops.
Once it becomes apparent they're stuck out there because of rampaging weather, the pair go on a drinking frenzy that derails their behaviour. They clearly start losing it. Big time.
Yes, then, The Lighthouse is a black comedy. Some viewers may be freaked out by the film, but if you've got a love of this sort of humour you'll find parts of the film hilarious.
Particularly with Winslow's deteriorating behaviour.
This stage of the film also depicts a sudden change in how the characters behave towards each other. They're like an old married couple.
As one point Wake gets upset as Winslow criticises his cooking, which leads to the former laying down an almighty maritime curse on his colleague.
As Wake and Winslow drift between a love-hate relationship, fuelled by their drunken antics, you won't be surprised to learn this isn't going to end well.
The Lovecraftian elements seep into the story and there's a bloody ending.
But within its madness and drunkenness there's a dark comedy in there, kind of along the lines of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Two men alone, bickering, working themselves towards an unpleasant fate, all in the name of a nihilistic bender.
We must note the two actors are terrific.
Robert Pattinson made his name starring in the Twilight series, primarily as the heartthrob handsome SOB who dates Kristen Stewart (in the films and then in real life). However, he's since gone on to take on more advanced roles like this. Full credit to him as he's brilliant in The Lighthouse.
Willem Dafoe, unsurprisingly, is also excellent.
He really hurled himself into the performance and comes across as a wild-eyed mix between Moby-Dick's Captain Ahab and Quint from Jaws. Just one who also gets upset over criticism of his boiled lobster.
It's never really clear what on earth is going on in The Lighthouse, but that's not important. It's a metaphysical journey, one that's deeply macabre. Yet it doesn't take itself overly seriously, giving way to slapstick, scatological humour, and more.
Not for everyone, sure, but if this sort of thing appeals it's for you. A modern classic and it's a delight to see a film of such dark qualities get the greenlight.
Notes on the Flannan Isles Lighthouse
Some of the inspiration for this film likely came from Flannan Isles Lighthouse. It's located on the north-western tip of Scotland.
And it's famous for a bizarre incident in 1900.
In December of that year James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald McArthur were manning the small island. There was a fourth occasional worker, too, who we couldn't find the name for.
On the 15th December the crew of the Hesperus ship arrived and found the island totally deserted. There was no sign of the four men. To this day, no one knows what happened.
It's a bit like the Mary Celeste brigantine disappearance of 1872.
The likelihood is a tragic accident befell the four men simultaneously out near the water. But nothing was ever recovered, leading some conspiracy theories for them going totally crazy out there and fleeing elsewhere.
It shall always remain a mystery.
The Production of The Lighthouse
Although critically acclaimed, The Lighthouse wasn't a huge box office hit. Off an $11 million budget it had a global box office of $18.3 million.
For this production, director Robert Eggers adapted the unfinished, and eponymous, Edgar Allan Poe short story. His brother Max helped with developing the screenplay.
The shoot took place at Yarmouth County in Nova Scotia.
A full 70 foot lighthouse set was constructed out there, with interiors built in soundstages at the local capital city of Halifax.
Eggers wanted to film in black and white from the off, but faced resistance from studio executives who wanted it in colour. They felt if they didn't it would impact its box office performance.
We mention that as it's the kind of studio interference that affects many big blockbusters these days. It isn't the "woke mob" or "feminism" affecting some big budget productions, it's a sense of avarice over creative merit.
During the shoot Pattinson and Dafoe didn't talk to each other outside of their time on set together. It was only after production wrapped that they got to know each other, at which point they became friends.
The Lighthouse enjoyed its premier at Cannes Film Festival in May 2019. It was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Oscars, but didn't win.
It's not all about awards, really, as the film now has a strong status as a cult classic. It took us a while to finally catch up with it, but we're sure glad we did.
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