The Wailing
2016South Korea★ 7.44 pt match
Both films sit with paranoia, feeling powerless, and guilt. Both circle the same ground: family wounds passed down and religion and faith. Same energy: bleak, haunting, slow burn, and escalating.
The Lighthouse
2019USALanguage: EnglishDirected by Robert Eggers★ 7.5
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Themes and style
Tone
bleaksurrealhauntingabsurdistdark comedycold and detached
Pacing
slow burnescalatingslow build to explosion
Story
survivalunravelingsiege
Emotion
figuring out who you areparanoiarageguiltlongingfeeling powerless
Themes
class and moneyfamily wounds passed downreligion and faith
Feel
exhaustingcerebralquietly hauntingdiscussion starteremotionally wrecking
Violence
graphicWhere to watch
Foreign films like The Lighthouse
These foreign films share the same emotional core, themes, and structural feel as The Lighthouse. Every one of them has confirmed English subtitles or dubbing.
Ring
1998Japan★ 7.14 pt match
Like The Lighthouse, this one is rooted in paranoia and feeling powerless. Both circle the same ground: family wounds passed down. Same energy: haunting, bleak, slow burn, and escalating.
His House
2020UK★ 6.43 pt match
Both films sit with guilt, figuring out who you are, and paranoia. They share the same lens on family wounds passed down. Both move the same way too, bleak, haunting, slow burn, and escalating.
Ghostland
2018France★ 7.43 pt match
Like The Lighthouse, this one is rooted in guilt, figuring out who you are, and paranoia. They share the same lens on family wounds passed down. The feel is the same: bleak, haunting, slow burn, and escalating.
Veronica
2017Spain★ 6.23 pt match
Like The Lighthouse, this one is rooted in feeling powerless and guilt. The world both films live in revolves around family wounds passed down. The feel is the same: haunting, bleak, slow burn, and escalating.
Onibaba
1964Japan★ 7.73 pt match
What ties these together is guilt, longing, and rage. They share the same lens on family wounds passed down. The feel is the same: bleak, haunting, and slow burn.