Read Negative User Reviews for The Lighthouse (2019)

3

HannibalBFeb 23, 2020

The makers of this mess of a film throw in a lot of things to suggest that it has a deep meaning, but that meaning has to be supplied by the viewer, because the writers didn't know what they were doing. The Lighthouse begins well but when theThe makers of this mess of a film throw in a lot of things to suggest that it has a deep meaning, but that meaning has to be supplied by the viewer, because the writers didn't know what they were doing. The Lighthouse begins well but when the wind changes about halfway through, it devolves into chaos. The story wanders, the characters become inconsistant and their motivations obscur. The actors are not at fault: their performances are excellent, but they're working with confused and unfinished material. What is really going on in this tale? Is Thomas Howard cursed? Is he mad? Is Defoe's character the mad one? Are the avian souls of the dead sailors offended? Are the supernatural entities real? Is the scrimshaw figure cursed. Do these two just drink too much? Is everything brought together by some grand Promethean theme? Is Cthulhu lurking in the cold vastness of space? I don't know, and neither does anybody else, including the writers. Rationalize this any way you want, and you'll be right. This is the J.J. Abrams school of film, nested in arty cinematography and compelling performances: throw a lot of shocking visual elements at the viewer so that he won't try to make sense of the story. But who can care about any of this? There is no sense that the plot is building towards anything or that there is any unifying theme or idea. So, despite all the frantic action and pseudo-sibylline ranting, this movie is a big bore.… Expand

5 of 6 users found this helpful51

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0

TribbleNov 2, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The antithesis to a chick flick. 2 men drinking, masturbating, fantasizing about sex with a mermaid, and going crazy....… Expand

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

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1

DavidAkivaOct 26, 2019

Pretentious, repetitive and not as scary as it thinks it is. The camerawork was impressive, but it called attention to itself.

6 of 13 users found this helpful67

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0

JamesdyoDec 7, 2019

Worst movie of the year. It's a pretentious black and white grainy art house movie with Mermaid sex and a hodgepodge if other weird stuff all thrown together but it doesn't stick. Should have been 20 minutes

5 of 11 users found this helpful56

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3

MikeK-123Oct 28, 2019

This movie had some terriffic acting, but it was a long journey into frustration as a viewer. I wished I'd walked-out. Seriously. Each scene was engrossing, but strung together they added to nothing. Nothing! I mean, when it ended one felt aThis movie had some terriffic acting, but it was a long journey into frustration as a viewer. I wished I'd walked-out. Seriously. Each scene was engrossing, but strung together they added to nothing. Nothing! I mean, when it ended one felt a sense of confusion, horror and uncertainty. Did we witness schizophrenia? Were they both nuts or were we watching madness through the eyes of one of the two? It couldn't be resolved even after days of reflexion. I'm not alone in this sense of frustration after watching this movie since my friend felt the same way. Remarkably, we both wondered how this movie got such glowing reviews on MetaCritic.… Expand

4 of 9 users found this helpful45

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1

xenophon2019Nov 6, 2019

Perhaps one of the worst movies ever made. Pointless,depressing and with a vague ending. Don't waste your time. It would be better to be lost at sea than to waste time watching this mess.

4 of 9 users found this helpful45

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1

breeseDec 11, 2019

No story, no set-up, no reason to care for the characters or stay in your seat on this dragging yawn of a journey full of juvenile bathroom humor and ear-grating sound. Yes, there's good cinematography, but film is not a photography show.No story, no set-up, no reason to care for the characters or stay in your seat on this dragging yawn of a journey full of juvenile bathroom humor and ear-grating sound. Yes, there's good cinematography, but film is not a photography show. Acting is good but why am I watching this again?… Expand

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

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3

Brent_MarchantFeb 17, 2020

Gorgeous cinematography, decent acting, a haunting soundtrack and a superbly crafted atmospheric mood aside, this otherwise-pointless, incomprehensible mess of a movie is a phenomenally huge, utterly confusing waste of time. Writer-directorGorgeous cinematography, decent acting, a haunting soundtrack and a superbly crafted atmospheric mood aside, this otherwise-pointless, incomprehensible mess of a movie is a phenomenally huge, utterly confusing waste of time. Writer-director Robert Eggers meticulously creates a well-crafted setting to tell a story and then fails to fill it with a tale worthy of its precisely realized milieu. In fact, what's supposed to be haunting and scary turns out to be downright laughable in the second hour, especially as the picture painfully limps toward its long-overdue conclusion. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson deliver capable performances -- that is, when they can be understood, their mangled elocution of the picture's Herman Melville-esque dialogue so distorted that it's impossible to decipher what they're saying no matter how many times one plays back each painfully tedious scene. Whatever the filmmaker was going for here, it's certainly lost on the audience.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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0

Leandro_CamposJan 3, 2020

I don't know what happens in the head of the people who give this **** a good review. I think for some people, good movie is a boring and bizarre thing but because it "sounds intelligent and cult" it must be good. Don't waste your time withI don't know what happens in the head of the people who give this **** a good review. I think for some people, good movie is a boring and bizarre thing but because it "sounds intelligent and cult" it must be good. Don't waste your time with this...don't waste your time with Eggers.… Expand

4 of 11 users found this helpful47

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2

zmgalen2000Dec 28, 2019

The artistic visuals and mis en scene established by The Lighthouse are washed away in what feels like blatant Oscar-bait. With an advanced-vocabulary-laced screenplay and overly confounding semiotics, The Lighthouse circumvents the presenceThe artistic visuals and mis en scene established by The Lighthouse are washed away in what feels like blatant Oscar-bait. With an advanced-vocabulary-laced screenplay and overly confounding semiotics, The Lighthouse circumvents the presence of a remotely clear plotline in favor of shoving ambiguity at its audience in what, honestly, feels voyeuristic. A journey filled with unintelligible dialogue and obscure images (whose signification can be interpreted quite literally or quite extremely with no middle ground), The Lighthouse is one of A24's less poignant works, appearing to be aimed at the pretentious film lover who lacks the take-it-as-you-see-it realist outlook.… Expand

2 of 6 users found this helpful24

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3

KenRJan 8, 2020

Having a love of all things set around the sea and classic navigational aids, it was essential to see ‘The Lighthouse’ - not so sure it was a good idea though. It’s a movie to make you feel both sickened and exhausted. The exhaustion is notHaving a love of all things set around the sea and classic navigational aids, it was essential to see ‘The Lighthouse’ - not so sure it was a good idea though. It’s a movie to make you feel both sickened and exhausted. The exhaustion is not so much from watching the harrowing events but from forcing yourself to last the distance. Great movies have been made with thought-provoking prose telling of highly strained relationships; O’Neil’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Mourning becomes Elektra, Melville’s Moby Dick, along with several similar writings by Edgar Allen Poe, being just a few. This grotesque, gothic horror yarn borrows from just about all of these in an attempt to bring to life its relentless assault on the hapless viewer’s senses. The end result may prove to please the horror aficionados or audiences with sadeo-masochistic tendencies. It pounds you over the head with an endless barrage of perverse abuse and vulgarity, till you want to reach for the remote to escape or move on in double speed. This sort of theme, in the past, would have been made as an effective 50min experimental featurette (BFI or CNFB style) As is, the endless morbid visual and sound scapes, tend to weigh you down to the point of wanting to walk out. The two performers are hard-working but a good movie needs more than slick acting to be enjoyable. I’m OK with the use of beautiful, moody, well lit Black and White cinematography but don’t see the advantage of shooting in an odd variation of the old 4 x 3 mode, as it added little or nothing. Also, with appearing to be set in the late 1800s early 1900s, these constructions would have been relatively newish and were quite well maintained but this set, looks so severely neglected as to be more like an untouched, 200 yr old museum piece. Lastly, lugging heavy ‘steel’ barrels up a Spiral Staircase...step by step, single-handed, when you have a pulley system outside seemed odd (?) Strictly for ‘arty’ self-abusers and the Awards crowd.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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0

CharlieSGJan 28, 2020

An attempt at creating a film, not really a movie, just a film with interesting visuals and really strong acting. That being said, it don't get no worse than this - no matter how you look at it! Intellectualizing something like this wasteAn attempt at creating a film, not really a movie, just a film with interesting visuals and really strong acting. That being said, it don't get no worse than this - no matter how you look at it! Intellectualizing something like this waste of time is just very sad commentary on how few really good films exist today. Seeing this at least give you a nice comparison to something really good out right now, like The Joker or Little Women.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

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0

RjrJan 12, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Possibly the worse movie I’ve seen in a while. I didn’t even understand why Robert Pattinson didn’t leave right away. Possibly gay? So what! The movie sucked. They both deserved to die. What a waste of my time, and yours-so be forewarned.… Expand

3 of 12 users found this helpful39

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1

Catface1Jan 13, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Piece of crap, waste of time. A tale of a nightmare boss, tormenting a simpleton.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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0

BchappeMay 14, 2020

Total waste of time. The film's only redeeming quality is that it's not 3.5 hours long

1 of 8 users found this helpful17

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3

ThiagoGonMay 2, 2020

Extremamente superestimado. Essa nota alta reflete que o filme é consumido por um grupo restrito de pessoas que já está predisposta a gostar de filmes pouco convencionais. Porque, se o público geral fosse avaliar, ele teria uma notaExtremamente superestimado. Essa nota alta reflete que o filme é consumido por um grupo restrito de pessoas que já está predisposta a gostar de filmes pouco convencionais. Porque, se o público geral fosse avaliar, ele teria uma nota baixíssima. Odiei a experiência, mesmo sendo alguém que gosta de filmes alternativos.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

TheFrogJun 8, 2021

This movie managed to leave me bored and disgusted at the same time. Corporeal fluid and gases abound, and don't seem to serve any other purpose than to delve into sordid territory. As for the story, for me it utterly fails to convey anyThis movie managed to leave me bored and disgusted at the same time. Corporeal fluid and gases abound, and don't seem to serve any other purpose than to delve into sordid territory. As for the story, for me it utterly fails to convey any higher meaning. It's not a journey into madness, not a supernatural thriller, I would be hard pressed to say what it *is*. More than anything, it seemed like a jumbled mess of discomforting moments, so much so that I just couldn't wait to see the end titles roll. But does it go anywhere? Nope.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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0

MadhupFeb 6, 2021

The director needs to fight off the hands. How can you film such an abomination????? I didn't finish watching this movie. What is the moral in it??
Режиссёру нужно отбить руки. Как можно снимать такую мерзость????? Я не стал досматривать этотThe director needs to fight off the hands. How can you film such an abomination????? I didn't finish watching this movie. What is the moral in it??
Режиссёру нужно отбить руки. Как можно снимать такую мерзость????? Я не стал досматривать этот фильм. Какая в нём мораль??… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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0

mustafa811Aug 20, 2021

bizarre and pretentious movie in black and white with 4:3 screen ratio , just don't , it is not for entertainment

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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2

Parad1seSep 12, 2021

This is one of the worst movies ever seen! It didn't make much sense most of the time. There was no story line. It was well acted, but we had to watch it in two sessions because we got bored. We had to watch it to the end just to see if weThis is one of the worst movies ever seen! It didn't make much sense most of the time. There was no story line. It was well acted, but we had to watch it in two sessions because we got bored. We had to watch it to the end just to see if we could make sense of it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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