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7.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Lighthouse Keepers remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have an hour to spare and want to feel slightly uncomfortable, you should watch this. It is definitely for people who like survival stories or those old thrillers that rely on faces rather than jump scares.
If you hate slow movies where nothing 'explodes,' you will probably be bored out of your mind. But for everyone else, it is a trip.
First off, this isn't the Robert Pattinson movie, though you can tell where some of those vibes came from. It is a silent film from France, and man, the French really knew how to make things look grim back then.
The story is simple. A father and son go to a lighthouse. The son, Yvon, got bit by a dog before they left, and nobody realizes it was a rabid dog until they are already stuck in the middle of the ocean.
The water looks terrifying. It doesn't look like movie water; it looks like the kind of ocean that just wants to swallow you whole. 🌊
The way they filmed the stairs is what got me. It's all spiral and cramped. You can almost smell the salt and the old oil from the lanterns.
There is this one shot where the father, Brehan, is just looking at his son. You can see him starting to realize something is wrong, but he doesn't want to believe it. It is all in the eyes.
I forgot to mention the mother and the fiancée back on shore. The movie cuts back to them sometimes. Honestly? I didn't care about them as much. The lighthouse is where the real meat of the movie is.
It feels a bit like Wild in the sense of being isolated with your own thoughts, but way more dangerous because your partner is literally losing his mind.
One scene goes on a bit too long where they are just staring at the horizon. I get it, they are lonely. But we get the point after ten seconds.
The special effects for the lighthouse beam are cool for 1929. It’s just these big streaks of white light cutting through the dark. It feels very mechanical and cold.
"It is just the two of them. And the madness."
I found myself wondering how they even filmed this on those rocks. It looks dangerous for the actors. Like, one slip and you are just gone into the Atlantic.
The pacing gets a bit clunky in the middle. Like most silent films, it has moments where it feels like a stage play. But then it breaks out into these fever dream sequences that feel totally ahead of its time.
If you've seen things like The Dawn of a Tomorrow, you know how these old dramas can be a bit heavy-handed. This one stays pretty lean though.
It’s a shame more people don't talk about this one when they talk about horror. It’s not about ghosts; it’s just about being trapped with someone you love who is becoming a threat.
The father has to make some choices that are honestly heartbreaking. No spoilers, but the last ten minutes are heavy. ⚓
Definitely worth a look if you want to see how much you can do with just two guys and a big pile of rocks.
IMDb 5.1
1922
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