Robert Eggers' 2019 psychological horror film, The Lighthouse, provided audiences with a wild look at two men's slow descent into absolute madness, but some original ideas for the film - which got the axe - pushed the movie firmly into NC-17 territory before Eggers dialed it back.
Starring Willem Dafoe and Ari Aster's films, Hereditary and Midsommar, is keen on pushing boundaries and challenging audiences with often explicit, violent, and raw material. A24 is also attached to the controversial HBO series, Euphoria, so their intentions regarding the lines blurred between the sexualized, darker aspects of humanity are present outside of the horror genre as well.
Even so, Eggers came to the studio and his financiers with ideas for The Lighthouse that got turned down, at least to some extent, because their presence can still be felt in the thematic and cinematography aspects of the film. While unmistakably an artist, Eggers had some wild ideas that likely wouldn't have gone over well with audiences, and might have even inhibited The Lighthouse's success and chances to be accepted by a more mainstream crowd.
The Lighthouse's NC-17 Pitch Got Rejected - Here's Why
In a chat with Film Independent, Eggers told the story of his original pitch for The Lighthouse, which took the Carl Jung-inspired, phallic imagery that the movie already contains to a new level. According to Eggers, when he originally approached the studio executives, who put their full faith in him after The Witch's success, they were thrilled to work with him and loved the idea. However, they asked that he hold himself back from his desire to include not only full-frontal male nudity, but also erect male genitalia in the film. While Dafoe and Pattinson are both fearless performers who may have been willing to tackle such an ask, A24 and New Regency told Eggers that the other aspects of the plot and his black and white cinematic style for the film would be fine, but they couldn't approve something that would obviously result in an NC-17 rating.
Horror movies often have to walk a fine line with ratings, and many mainstream horror movies tend to be rated PG-13 as a result of catering to a younger adult audience rather than leaning fully into bloodshed and violence. While other A24 horror films like Hereditary and Midsommar certainly don't shy away from sexuality or violence - and neither does The Lighthouse - an NC-17 rating can be incredibly limiting. If given an NC-17 rating, the chances for a wide theatrical release are basically dead in the water.
The Lighthouse was more of an independent venture, enjoying its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival and traveling to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF); it's certainly a more festival-oriented film, and not for everyone, but did get distribution in the US from A24 and Focus Features in the US, releasing in October 2019 with an R rating. Currently, The Lighthouse can be streamed on Amazon Prime as of April 2020.
