Alex Garland on why ‘The Lighthouse’ is his favourite Robert Eggers movie
Bursting onto the directorial scene with the slick Ex Machina in 2015, Alex Garland has cemented himself as one of the most innovative and inventive figures in contemporary cinema. Since mastering modern sci-fi with his debut, he’s delved into glimmering gore with Annihilation, gendered horror with Men, and is set to tackle a dystopian tale with Civil War later this year.
With three unsettling features and an A24 collaboration to his name, Garland has secured his place amidst a modern movement of directors delving into the weird and wonderful capabilities of the medium. Joining him in those ranks is Robert Eggers. Though Eggers’ focus is far less futuristic than Garland’s, instead looking to the folklore of the past, his filmmaking has proven to be no less innovative.
Despite their differences in setting, Garland has shared his admiration for his fellow A24 alum. While picking out his five favourite films during a conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, Garland even included one of Eggers’ efforts. The director kicked off his list with The Lighthouse, Eggers’ second film and his second venture into horror.
Following the success of Anya Taylor-Joy-fronted The Witch in 2015, Eggers recruited Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe for his sophomore feature. A bleak, black-and-white tale of isolation and masculinity, the film proved Eggers’ rightful place as the modern master of off-kilter horror. Like critics and audiences, fellow filmmaker Garland was equally impressed with the film and Eggers’ vision.
“There are some amazing people working today, and I think [Robert Eggers] is one of them,” he began, “I thought The Lighthouse was fantastic. It was incredibly funny and strange but most of all, incredibly original. I just appreciated that.” It certainly is one of the most original entries into the horror genre in recent memory, an element it’s unsurprising that Garland admired, considering his own efforts to revitalise sci-fi.
Garland went on to praise the people, performances and shooting of the film, suggesting that it reinstated his faith in contemporary cinema. “It was just so original that I thought, ‘Well, something right is happening if films like this can get made and get made so beautifully,’” he concluded.
In the age of superheroes and big-budget blockbusters, it certainly does seem like an impressive feat to get such an artful, monochrome work of mythology through production and into cinemas, much less to garner audience and award season acclaim. Beyond being an excellent piece of cinema, The Lighthouse is proof of original art persisting against all odds.
Revisit the trailer for The Lighthouse below.
