The Lighthouse: Story Prototype and Behind the Scenes

Story Prototype

The story is based on the real-life "Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy" that occurred in 1801 in Wales.

Summary of the event: Two Welsh lighthouse keepers, both named "Thomas," were tasked with tending to the lighthouse. When one of them fell seriously ill and needed medical attention, they set up a distress signal in an attempt to attract passing ships' attention. Unfortunately, due to a severe storm, no one came to their aid, and they endured several weeks of hardship before eventually perishing.

Several days later, their bodies began to decompose and emit a foul odor. As it was widely known that the two Thomases had a strained relationship,fearing a potential murder accusation, one of them was reluctant to cast the body into the sea. Instead, he improvised a makeshift coffin using wooden boards and secured the body outside on the railing.

However, the storm showed no signs of abating, and the coffin was eventually blown apart by strong winds, leaving the body exposed to the elements. In specific wind conditions, it appeared as though the corpse was creepily waving in the wind. Later, an inspection personnel even claimed to have seen a person standing on the lighthouse waving to them, but the raging storm prevented him from approaching. When the rescue finally arrived, the lone survivor had been living alongside the decomposing body for a harrowing four months, resulting in his complete mental breakdown.

The incident garnered significant public attention and outcry in British society, leading to changes in lighthouse staffing policies, with a minimum requirement of three people to prevent such tragedies from recurring.

The original story was first adapted into a film in 2016, which received an IMDb rating of 5.3.

The Lighthouse (2016)

Behind the Scenes / Fun Facts:

The film aimed to capture a sense of authenticity and period accuracy, and it used a 1.19:1 aspect ratio. Just ten days before shooting began, the New Regency production company attempted to convince director Robert Eggers to use a widescreen format, citing that the picturesque scenery would be wasted otherwise. However, the director was set on his vision, stating that the film must be shot in black and white on a 35mm film with a 1.19:1 aspect ratio and monaural sound.

All the buildings featured in the film were constructed specifically for the movie. There were two locations for the lighthouse setting. The exterior setting was built in Cape Forchu, Nova Scotia, Canada. Local residents became quite fond of this lighthouse during filming and tried to preserve it, but it was eventually dismantled due to safety concerns, among other reasons. The indoor sceneswere shot in narrow settings within the warehouses and studios of Halifax.

The film was shot under extremely harsh conditions, with most scenes captured under real weather conditions. The primary location was filmed over a total of 35 days.

Due to the special requirements of using film stock, which required 15 to 20 times the normal exposure, the production team placed high-wattage light bulbs inside kerosene lamps positioned only a few feet away from the actors. This made the set dazzlingly bright, to the point where actors could hardly see each other. Even the crew had to wear sunglasses during night shoots.

Both Rob and Dafoe's accents and sailor slang were meticulously designed, with attention paid to the pacing of every line of dialogue.

Rob lived separately during the filming, while Dafoe lived and dined with the crew. Initially, the two actors had minimal communication on set.

Neither of the two actors used fake facial hair for their roles. Only Rob dyed his beard black, and Dafoe wore dentures.

To build emotional intensity for the extreme conflict scenes, Rob sometimes engaged in self-inflicted actions before shooting, such as slapping himself, drinking rainwater from the rooftop, walking in circles, and sticking his fingers down his throat. In one scene where the two characters get drunk, Dafoe, upon seeing Rob's actions, commented to the director, "If Rob f***ing pukes on me..."

In the initial script, Dafoe's character was supposed to have a glass eye, a prosthetic leg, and was missing three fingers. However, the director decided against it to avoid creating a pirate-like impression of the character.

During filming, Dafoe apparently asked Robert Pattinson if he didn't like the lobster he was cooking for real, and it's said that Dafoe didn't blink for about 2 minutes during that scene.

Both actors, Dafoe and Pattinson, learned and practiced dancing for the scenes where their characters get drunk and dance.

Interestingly, Dafoe actually has a fear of heights and didn't enjoy climbing up to the lighthouse. On the other hand, Robert Pattinson had to practice rolling cigarettes because he didn't know how to do it.

Dafoe even learned how to knit during the filming process, which adds a unique detail about his commitment to the role and the character's isolated lifestyle in the film.

The fart sounds in the film were recorded and created specifically for the movie and were not taken from a sound library. The audio technician responsible for this sound effect has kept the secret of how it was made and has vowed to take the secret to the grave.

The production team has emphasized that no seagulls were harmed during the filming of the movie. Scenes involving the killing of seagulls or their diving sequences were created using animatronics and then enhanced through digital post-production. Other seagull scenes, like those involving obstruction or confrontation, were filmed using three well-trained seagulls in a UK studio.

The mermaid's reproductive organs in the film were inspired by sharks and were created using silicone.

In the movie, when a seagull dies in the cistern, the blackish blood that Rob pumps out of the water pump is actually chocolate sauce.

At the 1-hour and 26-minute mark in the film, when Rob looks through Dafoe's lighthouse log, the family photos in the log were digitally edited out in post-production.

Due to the adverse weather conditions and high humidity, the camera equipment frequently malfunctioned during filming. The scene where Rob goes to the sea had to be shot at night when the weather was more stable. The crew was concerned that he might be swept away in the turbulent waters. Rob had to enter the sea 25 times due to the constant fogging of the lenses.

A24 auctioned off the mermaid figurine that Rob "used" in the movie. If you look closely at the news photos, you can see signs of it being broken and glued back together. The proceeds from the auction were used to support COVID-19 relief efforts, and the figurine was eventually sold for a high price of $117,750 to an anonymous buyer.

Director Robert Eggers would spend hours on YouTube listening to videos of ocean waves crashing, wind sounds, and foghorns to help him write the script.

The director was initially concerned that the two lead actors, who were well-known for their work in comedy, might make the film "too funny."

When asked to describe the movie, the director's favorite response is: "Nothing good can happen when two men are trapped alone in a giant phallus."

The iconic shot of Dafoe's character with the lighthouse beam in his eye was inspired by a painting called "Hypnosis" by the German artist Sascha Schneider from the 1940s. However, Dafoe's pose differs from that of the hypnotist in the painting and is more reminiscent of the sea god Poseidon.

The ending shot of the film where Rob is being pecked at by seagulls is inspired by the painting "Saint Vincent" by the French artist Théodule Ribot from 1864.

The seagulls feasting on his entrails is reminiscent of the Greek myth of "Prometheus." In Greek mythology, the gods took fire away from humanity as a punishment for defiance. Prometheus, in an act of rebellion, stole fire back from the gods and gave it to humanity. This act enraged the gods, leading to Prometheus being bound to a rock as punishment. Every day, an eagle would come to eat Prometheus's liver, and his liver would regenerate overnight, subjecting him to eternal suffering.

The director's interpretation is that the two main characters represent figures from Greek mythology: Wake represents the ancient prophetic sea god Proteus, often referred to as the "Old Man of the Sea." Howard, on the other hand, embodies Prometheus, who defied the gods (represented by the character Wilkes) and stole fire (symbolized by the lighthouse's light).

In the end, the film doesn't explicitly state what the two characters see inside the lighthouse. It only describes the characters' reactions when looking at the light. Director Robert Eggers has mentioned that his goal was to make the audience feel as insane and confused as the characters themselves.