Lighthouse (film)

Lighthouse (released as Dead of Night in the United States) is a 1999 British horror film directed by Simon Hunter. The film follows survivors of a shipwreck being preyed on by an escaped psychotic convict who beheads his victims. It was shot in Cornwall for the main locations (lighthouse, beaches rockshores), and Hastings in East Sussex.

For other uses, see Lighthouse (disambiguation).
Lighthouse
Directed bySimon Hunter
Produced byTim Dennison
Mark Leake
Chris Craib
Written byGraeme Scarfe
StarringJames Purefoy
Rachel Shelley
Christopher Adamson
Don Warrington
Music byDebbie Wiseman
CinematographyTony Imi
Edited byPaul Green
Distributed byWinchester Films
Release date
  • 17 November 1999 (1999-11-17) (Sweden)
  • 17 July 2002 (2002-07-17) (United Kingdom)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A prison ship on its way to a remote island prison runs aground on rocks and sinks. Mixed survivors of cons and prison guards struggle ashore, only to discover to their horror that another survivor has made it ashore before them. Murderous psychotic Leo Rook not only had a hand in the ship's sinking but has decapitated all but one of the island's lighthouse crew. Stranded, with no means of escape or way to call for help, the survivors must face a night of terror. They know Leo does not want anyone to learn he survived the shipwreck and is hell-bent on adding their severed heads to his collection.

Cast
Actor / Actress Character
James Purefoy Richard Spader
Christopher Adamson Leo Rook
Rachel Shelley Dr. Kirsty McCloud
Don Warrington Prison Officer Ian Goslet
Paul Brooke Captain Campbell
Chris Dunne Chief Prison Officer O'Neil
Pat Kelman Spoons
Bob Goody Weevil
Peter McCabe Prison Officer Hopkins
Norman Mitchell Brownlow
Howard Attfield Sykes
Jason Round Spitfield
Sarah Wateridge McCloud's Mother
Rod Woodruff Guard

Release

Home media

The film was released on DVD under its alternate title Dead of Night by Image Entertainment on 30 May 2000. It was later released by VVL on 21 April 2003.[1]

Reception

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave the film a negative review, calling it "[a] straightforward, unimaginative slasher picture".[2] Shephen Holden from The New York Times called it "[a] grade-C British horror thriller", but also stated that the film was not without its crude pretensions.[3] Kim Newman from Empire awarded the film a negative two out of five stars, calling it "uneven".[4] Dennis Dermody of TV Guide gave the film one out of four stars, calling it a "lame British horror picture, which features plenty of arterial spray but few scares."[5] Jamie Russell from BBC rated the film two out of five stars, stating that the film's promising start was ruined by hammy acting, an unnecessary romantic sub-plot, and a lack of explanation for the killer's actions.[6]

References
  1. "Lighthouse (1999) - Simon Hunter". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  2. Bradshaw, Peter. "Lighthouse". The Guardian.com. Peter Bradshaw. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  3. Holden, Stephen. "`Lighthouse': So Where's Virginia Woolf When You Need Her?". New York Times.com. Stephen Holden. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  4. Newman, Kim. "Empire.s Lighthouse Movie Review". Empire Online.com. Nim Newman. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. Dermody, Dennis. "Lighthouse - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TVGuide.com. Dennis Dermody. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  6. Russell, Jamie. "BBC - Films - review - Lighthouse". BBC.co.uk. Jamie Russell. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
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