#day2 #31daysofhorror reviews.
The Light House (2019) was produced by the studio (A24) that brought us the acclaimed The Witch and Hereditary. So the bar is set high.
Premise: Two men must work at a light house. One clings to superstition and prone to soliloquies and story telling, and the second is treated like a second mate and continues to harbor his resentments. They must last 4 weeks together before they are relieved of duty. A storm prevent relief from coming. Who will get the better of who? Or what?
What I Liked: It’s black and white and tungsten and filmed in such a way it feels like a play house movies. This style makes the dark and shadows seem larger and imposing like ink blots on the screen. I also love how the wind and the foghorn blasts sound like massive beasts all ready our two protagonists.
William Dafoe and Robert Pattison are acting powerhouses. They feed off each others energy. They have great chemistry…BUT
What I didn’t like: the black and white and tungsten gets really old very fast and failed to keep me interested for much of its run time. I needed subtitles for the accents because it was really hard to understand some of the muffled ol’timey Brit-English. And because everything is over the top acting wise, everything from the images to the script feels too much like art pieces. I had to ask myself if this was a play before it was a film. Come to find out this was inspired by a piece of Edgar Allen Poe poetry. Knowing that it made sense why everything felt like art more suited for a gallery.
Verdict: There’s layers of conflict in this period thriller I just didn’t see it match the power and mystery of A24’s other works. The Light House has a central plot that is really hard to stay interested in. HOWEVER, please watch it for yourself and judge. It’s streamingfor on Amazon Prime Video.
Looking for something scary to read this season. Read my first novella, A Still Small Voice. Download it now.