QR Film Review: The Light House

folie à deux (noun): delusion or mental illness shared by two people in close association 

This chilling sophomore feature by director Robert Eggers is a dizzying, disorienting, and deeply immersing delve into madness in which nobody leaves the theatre quite sure of their sanity. The film’s storm-ravaged setting is captured by intensely claustrophobic framing, as if the audience is peering through a keyhole while the lighthouse-keepers spiral into complete mental collapse. Shadows lurk in almost every frame, stark lighting contrast reveals increasingly bright glimmers of madness from a character’s eyes, and the nigh-constant drone of a siren serves as a steady drum of tension, each beat marking a further step away from the stark reality of the tempest-tossed island rock. 

While the Academy may cast a disdainful eye upon horror actors, praises must be sung for the performances of lead actors Robert Pattinson and Willem DaFoe. At first understated, then unsettling, then outright unhinged, Pattinson’s character had me squirming, flinching and clenching my teeth as I watched him unravel from behind my fingers.

 Acting as the more theatrical counterpart in this deranged two-man horror-show, Dafoe’s lighthouse-keeper both frustrates and captivates while continually jabbering in mistruths and poetic metre – a true powerhouse of a performance. 

The Lighthouse will be screening at the Queen’s Film Theatre from Friday 31st January