In preparation for seeing The Lighthouse this weekend, I decided to also go back and re-watch The Witch. Back in 2016, I saw this movie in the theater because it looked awesome from previews. Just the type of horror movie I tend to gravitate towards. Quiet, a good story, gruesome where it needs to be, but not really over the top. What I find in books to enjoy is over the top, but visually for some reason I'm generally not a huge fan.
In watching The Witch for a second time, I realized that it's a movie I can see myself watching again and again. There's just something about it that really draws me in. A family ostracized by their town back in 1630s era of New England. To have to go out into the wild and rebuild what was already there for you is in itself frightening, but then to put on top of it the things that could and do lurk in the woods, really got to me. The small family, the insane happenings that begin to occur to them that tear them apart, and to find out what truly lurks in the woods. All of it combined, for me, into an almost perfect movie. The last five minutes I wasn't a big fan of, and I'm still not. The scene of the animal barn/shed at the end, I feel like that's where it should have ended.
Now we come to the newest offering by Robert Eggers. When I first saw the preview for The Lighthouse, I was very intrigued. I wondered what type of horrors he could bring to a small island of two lighthouse attendants, and if he could capture the magic I so much enjoyed in The Witch. Right off the bat, I was annoyed at the fact that the movie was shown in a square format. Just something about that irked me throughout, because I felt like I was missing out on something. Once I sort of could handle that visually, the movie goes into what can only be called a 'claustrophobic isolated nightmare', majorly for the character of Ephraim. He is basically being treated as a maid, never being allowed to actually go up and see the light itself, only to perform the duties at hand. What follows is a strong descent into madness, seagulls, creatures of the deep, and a crazy old man in that of Thomas, the head of the lighthouse. What I found hard was trying to depict what was really happening: some of it, all of it, none of it? What really was going on to these men? When the end of the movie finally comes, I unfortunately had the same exact reaction as The Witch. If the movie had just ended five minutes sooner...
Overall, The Witch is still one of my favorite horror movies. Even with the last five minutes maybe not being my cup of tea, I will hold true at giving it an A rating. The Lighthouse on the other hand is not something I would see myself watching over and over, but maybe once in a blue moon. I felt it jumped around much too often, made it confusing, and the very final scene I maybe just didn't understand fully how it became to be? I would have to unfortunately stick his newest effort with a B-. One thing that Brian Keene told me years ago after I nervously had my first ever public reading in a packed room of people, was that if I'd just ended the story a little sooner, it would have had a much bigger impact for the story and the audience. I feel like someone needs to give this same advice to Robert Eggers.
Written by Kyle Lybeck
In watching The Witch for a second time, I realized that it's a movie I can see myself watching again and again. There's just something about it that really draws me in. A family ostracized by their town back in 1630s era of New England. To have to go out into the wild and rebuild what was already there for you is in itself frightening, but then to put on top of it the things that could and do lurk in the woods, really got to me. The small family, the insane happenings that begin to occur to them that tear them apart, and to find out what truly lurks in the woods. All of it combined, for me, into an almost perfect movie. The last five minutes I wasn't a big fan of, and I'm still not. The scene of the animal barn/shed at the end, I feel like that's where it should have ended.Now we come to the newest offering by Robert Eggers. When I first saw the preview for The Lighthouse, I was very intrigued. I wondered what type of horrors he could bring to a small island of two lighthouse attendants, and if he could capture the magic I so much enjoyed in The Witch. Right off the bat, I was annoyed at the fact that the movie was shown in a square format. Just something about that irked me throughout, because I felt like I was missing out on something. Once I sort of could handle that visually, the movie goes into what can only be called a 'claustrophobic isolated nightmare', majorly for the character of Ephraim. He is basically being treated as a maid, never being allowed to actually go up and see the light itself, only to perform the duties at hand. What follows is a strong descent into madness, seagulls, creatures of the deep, and a crazy old man in that of Thomas, the head of the lighthouse. What I found hard was trying to depict what was really happening: some of it, all of it, none of it? What really was going on to these men? When the end of the movie finally comes, I unfortunately had the same exact reaction as The Witch. If the movie had just ended five minutes sooner...
Overall, The Witch is still one of my favorite horror movies. Even with the last five minutes maybe not being my cup of tea, I will hold true at giving it an A rating. The Lighthouse on the other hand is not something I would see myself watching over and over, but maybe once in a blue moon. I felt it jumped around much too often, made it confusing, and the very final scene I maybe just didn't understand fully how it became to be? I would have to unfortunately stick his newest effort with a B-. One thing that Brian Keene told me years ago after I nervously had my first ever public reading in a packed room of people, was that if I'd just ended the story a little sooner, it would have had a much bigger impact for the story and the audience. I feel like someone needs to give this same advice to Robert Eggers.
Written by Kyle Lybeck
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