The Lighthouse (2019)

The Lighthouse is a visual masterpiece, and an avant-garde horror classic that gives us all the more reason to consider 2019 the best year for film in more than a decade. Even if you don't like weird movies, you'll really like this one. Robert Eggers scared us with The Witch, but The Lighthouse places him in head and shoulders above any other horror filmmaker out there. In stunning black and white, the film looks more like a creepy, old-timey photograph than a motion picture. The first introduction of our two characters is practically picture in itself. The story (if you could even call it that) is the mental deterioration of two sailors, cooped up inside of a lighthouse as they toil away to keep it shining. They are both starving and sexually deprived, and over time, they begin to hallucinate. You'll be reminded of films such as Eraserhead and Un Chein Andalou, as Robert Eggers let's his bizarre imagination run wild. Theres a mermaid, and a giant squid, and a lot of seagulls... oh, and a bit of farting. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson are spellbinding to watch, but I was especially blown away by Pattinson. He's been underestimated since the Twilight days, but he's no ordinary actor. The Lighthouse contains his best onscreen performance to date. He's absolutely chilling. 5 Stars.