Warning: Will contain major spoilers for The Lighthouse
Have you ever seen a horror film that you really loved and became obsessed with, but you are left conflicted with the ending? I’m not saying this is a bad thing, I think it’s a genius move on the director.
The Lighthouse was directed by Robert Eggers, one of my favorite horror storytellers. His films are all about analyzing every moment, trying to fit all of the puzzle pieces together.
I love films that allow the viewer to come up with their own interpretation, it is storytelling at its finest when it comes to the horror genre!
The Lighthouse has messed with my brain for years ever since it was released. I have watched this film several times, and it became one of my favorite horror films.
The story follows two men named Thomas Wake (Williem Dafoe) and Thomas Howard (Robert Pattinson) that are lighthouse keepers on a New England Island in the 1890s.
Both men desperately try to maintain their sanity, as they realize they are now trapped on an island with possible supernatural occurrences.
The main question is…what exactly happened at the ending of this film?
Here are some possible theories to the ending of The Lighthouse.
Theory 1: Wake and Howard are secretly Greek Gods.
This already sounds freaking insane, but it’s not as crazy as it sounds!
There is a Greek God story, based on Proteus and Prometheus. Proteus is a sea god, who is able to shapeshift and see the future. Prometheus steals fire from the gods, and receives a horrible punishment by Zeus.
Prometheus is chained to a rock, and an eagle would come every day to pick at his insides.
In The Lighthouse, Howard is told by Wake to never kill a seagull, or bad things would happen. Howard doesn’t listen, and after so much frustration while working on the island, he kills a seagull.
What follows is a madhouse of horror.
Howard experienced moments of Wake transforming into a sea monster. He kills Wake in a fit of rage at the end of the film. He goes to touch the light from the lighthouse, an obsession that grew over time, similar to how Prometheus stole the fire.
Howard screams in pain, and he falls down the stairs. The film cuts to Howard getting his insides eaten out by seagulls.
See the similarities? It makes perfect sense, and the execution is incredible!
Theory 2: The supernatural events of the film are in Howard’s mind.
This theory isn’t too farfetched either. Wake and Howard are completing a task in the lighthouse in the first part of the film.
Wake keeps on telling Howard to be careful, but Howard ends up having a terrible accident while working on the lighthouse.
He falls down from a high height, that should have left something broken or left Howard dead. Instead, we see him just fine and dandy, talking with Wake after the fall.
Then when the second half of the film emerges, we are thrown straight into the psychological horror. Of course, we also know that at the end of the film, Howard is getting his body picked apart by seagulls.
I think after Howard fell, he was as clinging to his life throughout the entirety of the film. Unfortunately, he lost succumbed to his injuries, and the seagulls were there to finish the job.
Crazy huh?
Theory 3: Wake and Howard are two normal men that go crazy.
And of course, we have the normal theory ending, of two dudes that go mad on an island when rescue never comes for them.
Howard and Wake get into constant arguments, Howard hallucinates multiple times, and they want to kill each other. It makes sense why everything goes wrong at the end of the film for both characters.
This ending theory also works for the film, the events that took place were not great at all, who wouldn’t go mad at the end of all of these events?
I wouldn’t make it trapped on an island in the middle of the ocean.
The Lighthouse is a perfect horror masterpiece. I have never seen a film where many endings are possible, and this film always feels so fresh and new every time I watch it!
Thank you for reading!
Emy Quinn
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