From director Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse is an interesting movie that brings about awkwardness, horror, and even nostalgia. The movie stars Robert Pattinson as Ephraim Winslow, who has just accepted the job of assistant to the lighthouse keeper, Thomas Wake who is played by Willem Dafoe. After killing a seagull, a deed considered to be bad luck by Wake, a storm starts to cut off the island from outside contact, as it’s only a matter of time before one of them goes mad. For it being a stylized movie, it captures the old aspect ratio, and black and white cinematography perfectly, bringing to mind the movies of the early thirties. It makes the movie feel cluttered, almost claustrophobic in a way. Though, that’s not a bad thing, as it alone sets up the eerie tone, almost making the viewer feel like they’re stuck on the island along with them. The symbolism is very heavy in this movie, very much akin to Stanley Kubrik’s The Shining, so expect to see repeated imagery, sounds and various repeated musical cues. The only things that I wasn’t a fan of were the awkward lines. Like when Winslow curses Wakes’ farts, or his rambling about steak, or when Wake talks about lobsters. While it does help the awkward tone the movie is trying to go for, it missed the mark for me and made me laugh more than be creeped out. The acting in this movie is phenomenal, even if only two characters had lines. Dafoe’s Wake is spectacular, and is extremely convincing as an old lighthouse keeper who lived an unfair life at sea. It’s a great comeback after playing the death god, Ryuk in Netflix’s less than stellar adaptation of Death Note. Pattinson was also really good, and he convincingly played a man with a troubled and mysterious past.

I give it 8 lobsters out of 10.