I was between art schools and before taking the job I didn’t really think through what a lighthouse keeper actually did. The Eggers brothers also use the event of a dead gull being found inside the lighthouse structure's cistern as a catalyst for the bloody events that follow - but there was no evidence found in the true story of the Smalls lighthouse tragedy to suggest the discovery or subsequent mutilation of any seagulls.In the early Seventies I worked as a lighthouse keeper on three islands off the west coast of Scotland. Wake also reveals to Howard that his previous Wickie companion died upon the island, a fact the Eggers brothers certainly added to the story to increase the island's foreboding mythos. The differences continue to pile up from here, with Howard witnessing hallucinations of sea monsters while Wake practices bizarre rituals. The Lighthouse even begins with Thomas Wake as the island's longtime keeper, when in the true story, both men journeyed to the island together. Robert and Max Eggers' story changes many key elements of the Smalls lighthouse tragedy, starting almost immediately as The Lighthouse becomes imbued with a far more hallucinatory quality.
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Therefore, the Smalls lighthouse tragedy can be considered an important, albeit incredibly dark, moment in maritime history that laid bare the dangers posed to Wickies and created sweeping safety reforms for its time period.ĭue to the nature of Howell's account and the isolated nature of the Smalls lighthouse tragedy, many creative liberties are taken with the A24 horror movie The Lighthouse's based-on-a-true-story narrative. The Smalls lighthouse tragedy led to an immediate change in Lighthouse regulations in 1801, with three lighthouse keepers the minimum assigned to all coastal structures moving forward. The tragedy of The Lighthouse true story's ending is that several fishing boats passed the Smalls lighthouse during this three-week period, but none were aware of the horrors hidden within the structure. Related: The Northman’s Best Trick Makes The Movie Far Darker It is estimated Howell was left alone for over three weeks with Griffith's body in a hut that was less than five meters in diameter, with the rapping of Griffith's body on the lighthouse window making it seem as if Griffiths was trying to get in or as if he was beckoning Howell to join him outside. When a relief boat eventually reached shore, Howell was found utterly inconsolable and severely affected by this horrifying experience. While the true story from this point on cannot be corroborated, Howell then stated that the wind and surf eventually destroyed the box he had made for his fellow keeper, leaving Griffith's body caught and suspended by the ropes used to hold his coffin in place. Aware of the optics of the situation at hand, Howell opted not to throw the body into the ocean under fear of recrimination, instead placing Griffiths in a makeshift wooden casket and hanging him on the railing outside the lighthouse. This left the other lighthouse character Howell alone to deal with the corpse of a man he was known to have disliked, with Howell now fearful he would be accused of murder. Griffiths and Howell, who reportedly were already hostile to each other, now found themselves adrift from civilization on a spit of land with only each other for company.Īccounts chronicling the true story in 1801 state that Griffiths suddenly became unwell following injuries sustained in a freak accident, with Griffiths subsequently dying under mysterious circumstances after weeks of suffering. Upon these rocks stood the Smalls lighthouse, which in 1801 saw two lighthouse keepers named Thomas Griffiths and Thomas Howell stationed there. The true real-life story that forms the backbone of The Lighthouse's inspiration occurred on The Smalls, a tiny cluster of rocks 20 miles off of the Welsh Pembrokeshire coast.
Here's the true story that inspired Robert Eggers' positively reviewed movie The Lighthouse and what the Eggers brothers changed. This inexorable pull towards despair is as much a commentary on the human condition as a based-on-a-true-story spine-tingler. Yet despite the breadth of emotions that The Lighthouse conjures, it remains such a compelling film at its core due to the truth at the root of its narrative.
Related: The Northman: Were Amleth's Visions Real? Cases have been put forth at differing intervals for The Lighthouse to be categorized as a horror film, psychological thriller, survival film, and character study, respectively. Despite The Lighthouse's insular, true story-based setting, the film contains incredible nuance, leading to an intense debate regarding its' true genre. The critically acclaimed The Lighthouse stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers, or " Wickies," who descend into darkness as a storm strands them on the remote island at which they are stationed.
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