I've long since wanted to see 'The Lighthouse'. A slow burning story, with elements of Lovecraft and David Lynch, featuring two powerful actors in an isolated, secluded location sounds exactly my kind of horror.
I'm glad I have seen it. It satisfied my curiosity about what the director of 2015's terrific 'The Witch' would do next. Sadly, as a film, it failed to make any connection with me, or I with it. It isn't a bad production - the images are stark and beautifully filmed in black and white. The acting, mainly from Robert Pattinson and William Defoe, is intense and convincing - but I couldn't detect any real emotion, other than the rage that comes with being cooped up with another.
The direction clearly wants to provide us with weird and unsettling images, which it does, but that only goes so far when there isn't any kind of story, or development, going on - other than bouts of madness, which manifests itself in moments of screaming violence.
Despite everything, all I could see were two men, neither of whom are particularly likeable, shouting at each other, fighting or indulging in grubby personal habits. There are some interesting moments, mostly toward the end, but ultimately, there was nothing here I found frightening in any way. Nor did I find anything funny, or witty or particularly satisfying.
I won't slate the film because I can see it was well made and performed. It just didn't have any resonance with me personally. As such, I just found it rather dull and noisy. My score is 3 out of 10.
I'm glad I have seen it. It satisfied my curiosity about what the director of 2015's terrific 'The Witch' would do next. Sadly, as a film, it failed to make any connection with me, or I with it. It isn't a bad production - the images are stark and beautifully filmed in black and white. The acting, mainly from Robert Pattinson and William Defoe, is intense and convincing - but I couldn't detect any real emotion, other than the rage that comes with being cooped up with another.
The direction clearly wants to provide us with weird and unsettling images, which it does, but that only goes so far when there isn't any kind of story, or development, going on - other than bouts of madness, which manifests itself in moments of screaming violence.
Despite everything, all I could see were two men, neither of whom are particularly likeable, shouting at each other, fighting or indulging in grubby personal habits. There are some interesting moments, mostly toward the end, but ultimately, there was nothing here I found frightening in any way. Nor did I find anything funny, or witty or particularly satisfying.
I won't slate the film because I can see it was well made and performed. It just didn't have any resonance with me personally. As such, I just found it rather dull and noisy. My score is 3 out of 10.