LIGHTHOUSE (dead of night) is without question one of the best thrillers to come out in years. How this gem fell through the cracks I'll never understand. (Though in the states, blaming A-pix for it's forced, inappropriate title and amateurish B-grade box art is a good place to start!) Perhaps the film is just too sophisticated for the slasher set and too gruesome and effective for thriller fans. It deserves a genre all it's own. above all else it exists as an exercise in suspense and a very successful one at that. Sporting vividly realized, even brilliantly conceived scenes of terror visually reminiscent of Argento's best and pacing that could only be compared to that of the young John Carpenter, LIGHTHOUSE should be seen by anyone the least bit interested in Horror or good film making. One of my favorite scenes involves a flashback/dream sequence so beautifully composed it evokes the Great German expressionists in it's vague shadowy ambiguity. (When was the last time you rewinded a scene in a horror movie to watch it over again?...Sad isn't it?!) Before the film ends, it miraculously transforms genre yet again into full throttle action as the heroes find themselves dangling outside the lighthouse in a final showdown with the madman. The background sets in these scenes (orange grey skies, endless ocean) are as glorious as something out of old Hollywood or the films of the great James Whale. How teenage dreck is released into theaters while brilliance is shoved into a videobox with a generic skull on it is anyone's guess. This film deserved the same release as other harder to classify, Adult genre films like THE CUBE, RAVENOUS and EXISTENZ. Expect to find LIGHTHOUSE in years to come referred to as an overlooked classic and expect it's Director to be on the forefront of the next wave of horror.