The Lighthouse trailer: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe face off in Robert Eggers’ nautical nightmare

A24 dropped the first trailer for The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as late 19th-century lighthouse keepers. Robert Eggers’ much anticipated follow-up to the 2015 indie horror hit The Witch premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes 2019. It caused a storm at the festival and was one of the hot-ticket premieres.Co-written by Eggers and his brother, Max, the nautical horror-fantasy film was shot on black-and-white 35mm film. The trailer shows a weathered duo of mariners keeping the light on a remote Maine island. Isolated from the rest of the world, they gradually descend into madness.What we said: "The primal violence that often binds men has rarely been evoked as intensely as Dafoe and Pattinson's showcase in The Lighthouse. Their pairing provides a recipe for one unforgettable moment after another as they drink, dance and dispute over everything, from supper to superstitions...If The Witch gave us a taste of Eggers' artistry in building atmosphere and flair for adapting folklore, The Lighthouse organically expands on his debut feature’s hypnotic qualities and eerie lyricism. It shows us what genre filmmakers are capable of — if given the freedom to make films without restraint. If Eggers’ first film was bewitchingly good, his second is an absolute delight." (Read full review here). The Lighthouse will get a limited release in Los Angeles and New York theatres on 18 October.Watch the trailer here.