The Lighthouse, the latest from Roger Eggers, is a strange film. The Witch was also a strange film, but a cohesive and relatively accessible one. As for cohesion and accessibility in The Lighthouse, well there isn’t any... It’s an abrasive, unnerving experience, much like 2018’s First Reformed in tone and aggression, but also worthy of comparisons to Stanley Kubrick’s seminal The Shining or maybe even The Shape of Water in some moments.

All of these comparisons aside, however, this is a unique film.

Although it feels much less immediate than The Witch, and not quite as refined either, it’s a true spectacle of an art-house film. Laced with uncomfortable dream sequences, ghoulish cinematography and a sharp, piercing sense of humour, it’s truly like nothing else. Perhaps the biggest compliment that one can give this film is just how truly old-fashioned it is. I’m not referring to the aspect ratio or the grain of film, but the narrative itself. It’s the most truly lovecraftian film that I’ve ever seen, perfectly encapsulating the time and mystery of a Poe novel, just as the Eggers brothers would have wanted.

Whether or not this one will sit better or worse with me over time, I’m not sure, but I'm feeling positive about it after a bit of thought.