Uploaded April 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago

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This video is the first in a series titled The Terror of Trauma that plans to explore the theme of trauma present in various horror films. This video focuses on Robert Egger's 2019 surreal horror flick The Lighthouse and its use of German Expressionism and The Uncanny. Through these devices, The Lighthouse seems to offer an intriguing outcome of addressing one's trauma to lend itself to potentially punishing outcomes.

If you enjoy this video then please give it a thumbs up and also subscribe to join me on an exploration of horror films that deal with trauma.

Check out these other great video essays that explore The Lighthouse also:

"The Lighthouse: An American Myth" by Kino Corner (youtube.com/watch?v=aWY8U3dnNMw)

"The Lighthouse, Twilight, And Masculinity" by Kay and Skittles (youtube.com/watch?v=cEERvzBbuwM)

Sources used:
Skal, David. The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2001

Buy it here: amazon.com/Monster-Show-Cultural-History-Afterword/dp/0571199968

Freud, Sigmund. "The Uncanny." The Uncanny. 1919.

Totally for free here: https://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/freud1.pdf