Weird is wonderful. Weird is good. Weird films challenge expectations with disorienting elements like surreal imagery, non-linear plots, and dreamlike (or nightmarish) logic. So what defines ‘weird?’ Ambiguity, uncomfortable atmospheres, rejection of traditional narrative structures? The beauty of it lies in bypassing our rational mind and speaking directly to our subconscious. These films remain in our thoughts, revealing different meanings every time we watch them.
2019’s The Lighthouse, directed by Robert Eggers, owns its claustrophobic black-and-white cinematography, surreal mermaid visions, and descent into madness. Its obscure mythology and sexual imagery create an air of psychological horror and dread. Lead actors Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson deliver exceptional performances as isolated lighthouse keepers whose grip on reality deteriorates. With that in mind, if you like The Lighthouse, you’ll love 1968’s Hour of the Wolf.
Director Ingmar Bergman Ran So Others Could Walk
Hour of the Wolf
- Release Date
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April 8, 1968
- Runtime
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88 minutes
- Director
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Ingmar Bergman
- Writers
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Ingmar Bergman
- Producers
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Lars-Owe Carlberg
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Gertrud Fridh
Corinne von Merkens
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Directed by Ingmar Bergman, the Swedish classic Hour of the Wolf stars Max von Sydow as Johan Borg and Liv Ullmann as his pregnant wife Alma, and portrays the psychological disintegration of an artist on an isolated island. Borg suffers from insomnia and terrifying visions, which he records in a diary that Alma secretly reads. His mental state deteriorates as he’s haunted by demons from his past. When invited to dinner at Baron von Merkens’ castle, Borg encounters bizarre aristocrats and his former lover, Veronica, figures that increasingly torment him.
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Hour of the Wolf and The Lighthouse share similarities in their visual language and psychological depth, where the directors cleverly blur the line between reality and hallucination. Eggers and another triumphant modern horror director, Ari Aster, are heavily influenced by Bergman, as they discussed with intent in the Deep Cuts podcast. Aster’s 2021 film Midsommar specifically bears resemblance to Hour of the Wolf, as does the ending of Hereditary. He stated: “I know that we’re both devotees. You can probably see it in our work.”
Geographic Isolation Makes for a Chilling Experience
Like Hour of the Wolf, many films use geographic isolation as a breeding ground for inner terror. 2022’s Enys Men follows a wildlife volunteer on a bleak Cornish island; The Shining from 1980 utilizes the Overlook Hotel during winter as a space for the caretaker’s sanity to deteriorate; 2015’s The Witch, also directed by Eggers, sees a Puritan family banished to the edge of the wilderness and facing supernatural horrors that may be reflections of their religious fears.
In The Lighthouse, Eggers confines his characters to a tiny island where the at-first cozy, but increasingly relentless fog, crashing waves, and lighthouse tower become physical manifestations of their mental states. Similarly, Bergman places Borg and his wife Alma on the island of Baltrum, where the barren landscape reflects Borg’s slipping grip on reality. The islands serve as psychological pressure cookers bubbling away, cutting characters off from society and forcing them to confront their innermost demons.
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How to Distort Reality
The stunning black-and-white photography in The Lighthouse and Hour of the Wolf cultivate a nightmarish view. Eggers shot The Lighthouse with a nearly square 1.19 aspect ratio, creating a boxed-in, trapped feeling for the viewer. Bergman employs high-contrast imagery and compositions that distort perception. This precision transforms ordinary environments into unsettling spaces, where reality feels on the brink of collapse, making it hard to distinguish what’s true.
Both films present unreliable narration. In The Lighthouse, events unfold through the increasingly unstable perspective of Pattinson’s Winslow. Hour of the Wolf begins with Alma’s account of her husband’s disappearance, gradually shifting between multiple viewpoints. Due to this ambiguity, the audience is encouraged to piece together meaning from the mangled impressions presented on screen. Ultimately, clarity isn’t needed if you’re absorbing the trip.
What We Don’t See Can Be the Most Frightening
Svensk Filmindustri
Sexual frustration manifests as monstrous transformations in these films. Hour of the Wolf looks at repressed sexuality through Borg’s encounters with seductive figures at a castle dinner party. Winslow’s sexual frustration in The Lighthouse finds expression in his obsession with a mermaid figure, layered with homoerotic tension between the two keepers. Both films connect these desires with supernatural elements that function as externalizations of psychological states. Are these genuine supernatural encounters, or projections of the mind? There’s no solid stance on whether the horror is external or internal, hinting that the greatest terrors may lie within our thoughts.
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The soundscapes are also essential to the films’ impact. Bergman employs strategic silence and bursts of sound to create unease in Hour of the Wolf, while The Lighthouse assaults viewers with the relentless foghorn, howling winds, and seagull cries that pierce the soul. What makes these films perfect companions is their commitment to depicting madness through cinematic techniques. Both directors grasp that psychological horror is often more disturbing than any monster or serial killer. For fans of one film, the other offers a complementary exploration of how isolation, repression, and guilt can affect the human mind.
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