With the release of The Lighthouse, we have now seen the sophomore outing of horror director Robert Eggers. This New England filmmaker has brought his own brand of horror to life through this film, and The Witch.
His obsession with folklore, history, and language has fueled his other loves of psychological horror and storytelling. But, between The Lighthouse and The Witch, what film is best? Here are five ways both films have surpassed the other.
The Lighthouse Has Better Performances
Both films contain incredibly committed performances, working with the dark subject matter and difficult dialogue. But, it is the powerhouse duo of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe that take the cake in this category.
Both men are powerful dramatic actors, and their commitment to their craft is on full display. The two give arguably the best performances of their careers, which says a lot for an actor of Dafoe's background. The lengths and depths that they went to are astonishing.
The Witch Is More Timely
Horror is meant to reflect the anxieties and terrors that we confront today. While the depths of masculinity and affection are explored wonderfully in The Lighthouse, it is the gender dynamics at play in The Witch that feel more fitting to the conversations being had today.
The tragedy of Tomasain in The Witch is of someone succumbing to the role that external forces have placed her in. After suffering the whole film, she has no choice but to embrace the negative identity that her family and others have forced upon her.
The Lighthouse Offers More Unique Visuals
While the visual language of The Witch is certainly present, it doesn't hold a candle to the auteur style direction seen in The Lighthouse. The use of the 1.19:1 aspect ratio, antique camera lenses, the black and white film gives the film a time capsule-like feel. At the same time, the shot composition is a powerful blend of similar silent film placements as well as modern sensibilities.
The set design as well is even more impressive, with all the structures, lighthouse included, assembled for the film and film alone. Combine that with the grotesque creature design and what results is a film that at least looks like nothing ever seen before.
The Witch Feels Scarier
The Lighthouse is unsettling and foreboding in its storytelling but rarely is it as insidiously scary as something like The Witch. Closely tied to the anxieties of New England, along with centuries of Witch folklore, The Witch ties itself directly into the western psyche.
The imagery and scares of the film are primal, using the foreboding woodland location to full effect. Not only that, but the quick descent into madness that this family takes is viscerally affecting as hell.
The Lighthouse Is Funnier
One thing that you certainly couldn't call The Witch is lighthearted. The Lighthouse, on the other hand, embraces a bit of a funny bone to break the tension. While the film is not a comedy, examining the darkest sides of these two men, the amount of laughs that came out of this movie is surprising.
It is also rather relieving. There are moments of sheer terror and absurdity that, if left in a vacuum, would be too much to handle. It is the one-off comments, the returning jokes, and the surprising amount of farts that make these horrifying moments a bit easier to swallow.
The Witch Has The Better Score
The blaring horn of the lighthouse was certainly gargantuan in the presence and would be awful to listen to for however long those two were stranded. But, it is the insidious score behind The Witch that really rounds out the whole film.
The pizzicato use of percussion and the heightened whispers of a witchy choir make this one of the most unsettling scores in years. The score for The Lighthouse, in contrast, does not feel as necessary to the overall effect of the film.
The Lighthouse Has Better Body Horror
The Witch might be more viscerally spooky, but the grotesque limits that Pattinson and Dafoe pushed themselves physically is disturbing. Their contorting bodies, covered in all manners of liquids, dirt, and seaweed is just difficult to look at.
And that's what made it so affecting. Even at its most tame, the lengths that these two actors went through just to perform their duties on the rock were hard enough. When the madness comes through though, it is a whole other sight to behold.
The Witch Feels More Personal
Both films are obviously the work of a singular mind. Their sensibilities in scares, aesthetics, and backdrops all are due to the interests of their auteur, Robert Eggers. But, when it comes to heritage and personal fears, The Witch feels just a bit more in line with Egger's experiences.
He has spoken at length to how affecting these stories of witchcraft were as a youth growing up in New England. Through making the film, he was able to show how nightmarish these were, as well as how much they meant to him as a storyteller. Not to mention the environment could have been set in his childhood backyard.
The Lighthouse Is More Intricate
Both films are made with insane detail in mind. But, The Lighthouse is far more complex in its imagery and storytelling devices. The blend between madness, in reality, is difficult to discern, not to mention the overall thematic message that Eggers is trying to convey.
Like Jordan Peele's sophomore film Us, The Lighthouse feels as if it is a film that will need years worth of analysis to fully unpack. Like The Shining, there will be aspects of this film that we don't pick up on until we've watched it a multitude of times.
The Witch Is More Digestible
The Witch, on the other hand, has a lot more watchability to it. Shorter in length, and more straightforward in its narrative, the film is one that has easily become a staple of many Halloween movie nights.
Not to mention the actual filmmaking techniques make it feel a bit more digestible. Though not all audience members feel this way, more certainly gravitate to films that are in color with a standard cinematic aspect ratio. Because of this, even visual it will have more watchability as time goes on.