The Lighthouse is one of the most insane film experiences you will have all year. The knockout, frenzied performances of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are career bests, and the outlandish direction from Robert Eggers is uniquely his own.
Though The Lighthouse feels alone in its effect, there are many others out there that feel like appropriate follow-up viewing for anyone who enjoyed the film. Whether you loved the black-and-white filmmaking, the outrageous performances, the period horrors or the singular direction, here are a few other films that could satisfy any fan.
The Witch
The Lighthouse is the second feature from director Robert Eggers, his first being the instant classic, The Witch. Subtitled A New England Folktale, this film takes inspiration from real documented legends and transcripts from witch trials of the period.
Though a fairly recent release, the film has garnered a cult following and has already been deemed a classic of the genre. The performances at the heart of this horrific family drama are the reason to stay, but you’ll also be gripped by the Puritan horrors that come with it.
Jaws
Willem Dafoe’s performance in The Lighthouse might be the saltiest character ever put to screen. With all the hallmark colloquialisms that come with a salty sea captain, Dafoe’s performance as Thomas surpasses any caricature of a weathered lighthouse keeper.
But if you’re in the mood for something similar, why not watch the immortal Steven Spielberg classic, Jaws? Before The Lighthouse, all of these compliments would have been laid at the feet of Captain Quit, as played by Robert Shaw. He is one of the most fascinating movie characters ever assembled, and a perfect pairing with Willem Dafoe’s in The Lighthouse.
Good Time
After the Twilight films, Robert Pattinson suffered a sad reception to his acting career. Few audiences took him seriously, let alone anything more than a teen dreamboat. Luckily, with his performance in The Lighthouse and his upcoming role as Batman, Pattinson will finally be able to shed off the stink of that vampire franchise.
If you’re in the mood for more committed performances from Pattinson, look no further than the Safdie brothers’ Good Time. This A24 film features Pattinson in the lead as a bank robber attempting to free his brother from prison. It’s zany and madcap, like a modern-day version of his Lighthouse persona.
The Signalman
Did you love the spookiness of The Lighthouse’s secluded maritime location? What about the period-accurate dialogue? If so, maybe a trip to a desolate train depot with a pair of similarly tongued gentlemen would suit your liking.
This BBC Produced TV movie version of the Charles Dickens short story is one of the moodiest bits of TV cinema ever made. Featuring Indiana Jones alum Denholm Elliot, the story focuses on a signalman who is haunted by a spirit who predicts disaster on his rail line. Far less graphic than The Lighthouse, but even more spooky, The Signalman feels like a strong middle ground between The Lighthouse and The Witch.
The Others
The Others is one of the best modern horror films out there. Like The Lighthouse, its period-placed horrors occur in a secluded location, inching ever close to madness for the victims. Here though, the landscape is a derelict manor, and the victims are a mother and her two children.
Inspired by the novella The Turning of the Screw, this is a more melancholy take on the secluded horror genre. But the scares are still plenty, with some of the most nightmarish sequences of supernatural horror.
The Shining
Robert Eggers has stated multiple times that The Shining has influenced his own storytelling. You can see it, too. In The Witch, the slow burn nature of the horror, as well as the crumbling family dynamic, can be felt from the start.
The Lighthouse takes a similar approach but embraces the madness aspect of the story. You can rarely tell if what is happening is real or not in both films, and the isolated location of both stories assists in that. Not to mention both films feature a chase scene where the pursuer is limping with an ax in hand.
The Borderlands
The Borderlands is a found footage horror film that packs about the same amount of bodily fluids seen throughout The Lighthouse into the final few minutes of its finale. Focusing on a pair of Vatican representatives, the two investigators look into a reputably haunted church in the English countryside.
Instead of finding ghosts and spirits, they find something much darker and far hungrier than they could have imagined. It is haunting, funny, and grotesque by the end. A perfect follow-up to the nightmarish gore of The Lighthouse.
The Fog
One of the more underrated nautical horror films has to be John Carpenter’s The Fog. This film’s lighthouse is far more welcoming, hosting a local radio station in its walls. Sadly, it and the surrounding town are equally cursed as the land in The Lighthouse.
It has all the whispering coastal winds that The Lighthouse has to offer, but with the campier charm that comes with a Carpenter-led ’80s flick. As always, the score is outstanding and the mood is pervasive.
Cold Skin
Cold Skin is a fairly flawed film, but its aesthetics and mood are on point. Like The Lighthouse, this period horror film features a desolate coastal island, a lonely oceanside outpost, and creatures from the deep.
Like both film,s though, the true monsters are human. If you want an even heavier creature feature than Egger’s film, Cold Skin is the film for you. Hopefully you find the monsters a bit more sympathetic in this one.
A Field In England
Perhaps no film on this list feels like a closer counterpart to The Lighthouse than Ben Wheatley’s psychedelic A Field in England. Also shot in black and white, featuring insane performances, and set among a historical setting, the two could feel like they’re a part of an unfinished trilogy.
Here though, the fears lie in greed and gluttony and are punished by psychedelic witchcraft. Set during the English civil war, this film is so out there, bizarre, funny, and unsettling — just like The Lighthouse.
