(wind whistling)
(water splashing)
(country music)
(tapping)
(record scratching)
(rumbling)
(static)
(glass shattering)
♪ Give me one
♪ Give me two
♪ Give me three more times
♪ Feeling blue
♪ Hello, baby,
♪ See you all the time
(door creaking)
♪ Let it go, buddy
♪ Give me two more times
♪ Nobody lasts, no
♪ The way you give me that
♪ Give me one more time
♪ Three more times around
(eerie sound)
(ominous tone)
♪ The way you give me that three times,
(suspenseful melody)
(thunder cracking)
(man groaning)
(birds chirping)
Hello?
Wait, hello?
(mysterious melody)
(man moaning)
What are you doing here?
Tell me.
I don't know.
What is your name?
I was on my way to San Francisco.
I'd just won an important civil engineering assignment,
then I was on the water, there was a storm.
A light in the distance.
God, the rest is just a blur.
How is this possible?
It's maddening.
The wound on your head,
I found you unconscious on the beach.
You've been knocked out for two days.
The light?
It was a warning, not an invitation.
Thank you for looking after me, I'm in your debt, Mr.?
Let me be clear, boy.
This place is isolated, remote, I like it that way.
My job is here is to maintain the house, the grounds,
and to keep the light burning,
it's not to place host to guests or nursemaid.
Of course.
Well, now that I'm up and around,
I won't impose on you any longer,
I'll be on my way this afternoon.
No one leaves this peninsula.
Excuse me.
No one leaves this peninsula except by ferry.
When's it due?
Two weeks.
No, there must be another passage.
There is.
A footpath.
And?
Impassable.
Runoff from the mountains
bloats the creek this time of year,
passing it would be suicide.
You have a telephone.
If my ship wrecked, the authorities will know about it.
Hello, hello?
There'll be ship manifests, a missing person report,
they can tell me who I am.
Hello?
Nothing.
The lines must be down after the storm.
It happens all the time.
(high-pitched sound)
On the beach, did you find a satchel?
[Walsh] A satchel?
Yeah, with a manuscript inside.
You're a writer?
No, well, yes, it's a technical journal, it's complicated.
My ambitions lead me to the city once,
to a lucrative position, but it didn't work out.
She must've taken it.
Who?
A girl, I saw her on the beach before I fell.
You didn't see a girl.
Yes, a young woman.
I called out to her, but she didn't answer me.
I follow her, but she disappeared behind the rocks.
She didn't answer you because there is no girl.
You and I are the only two souls on this God-forsaken rock.
You're not in your right mind.
Your imagination, it's playing tricks with you.
No, but...
I can't be sure of anything in my present state.
I have work to do.
Walsh.
My name is Walsh.
Wait, wait, come back, I wanna talk to you.
What causes these tremors?
The cliff below us is chalk,
riddled with catacombs,
eroded by the crashing waves
continuously when the tide comes in.
If that's true,
the foundation of this house will be compromised.
It's only a matter of time.
Then let's drink to the lighthouse crumbling into the sea.
Not a drinking man?
Don't worry, I'm used to drinking alone.
Perhaps I can reinforce the foundation.
Stave off the inevitable?
It's the least I can do to repay your hospitality.
After all, if I'm gonna be a prisoner here,
I might as well be useful.
[Walsh] Whatever you want.
I don't understand you.
I tell you this house is bound to crumble around your ears
and you just shrug.
What did you call it?
A prison, you've been here a few days,
imagine being here a lifetime.
This peninsula, it's a grave,
this lighthouse, a tombstone.
Forgive me if I fail to shed a tear
at the prospect of its destruction.
Don't you care about anything?
I did once.
I took a young wife.
I promised her a prosperous new life in the city.
Jobs were scarce.
Finally, when I was desperate for work, I brought her here.
Ours was a whirlwind courtship.
She was so beautiful.
So vibrant when we met,
but it's hard to know a woman after so short a time.
She became melancholy.
For weeks on end, she would despair.
I thought that starting a family
would make her feel less alone,
but she couldn't bear the thought of a child
suffering here the way she did.
Her constant sorrow began to annoy me.
I just wanted to shake the sadness out of her.
What happened?
She made her escape.
The woman on the beach.
There is no woman, we are alone here.
No, I saw her again this afternoon in the woods.
It was no hallucination, my mind was clear.
Is your mind clear now, has your memory returned?
Do you know who you are?
Can you even tell me your real name?
How can you be so sure we're alone?
How can you be sure I didn't see your wife?
Because...
I saw her fall into the sea.
Come, let the burial rites be read.
Let the funeral song be sung,
An anthem to her the queenliest dead
that ever died so young.
A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young.
Please, forgive me.
Don't let you candle go out.
Always, always keep a light burning.
Good morning.
What do you have there?
Kerosene, the light needs to be refueled constantly.
Tell me.
Is there a safe way down to the beach?
A staircase,
it's just a stone's throw from here, that way.
If you had waited until the tide went out that first day
instead of foolishly scaling the cliff,
it would have become obvious.
Hey!
Keep away from the caves.
They're dangerous.
(eerie whispers)
(foreboding melody)
What are you doing here?
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you,
I don't mean you any harm.
I'm not the one about to suffer harm, talk.
I was afraid you would disappear again
before I had a chance to speak with you.
You should've shown yourself.
I called to you before, you didn't answer.
I've seen you twice before
and twice you disappear without a word.
I was beginning to think you were a ghost.
Ow!
Would a ghost do that?
You're soaked through.
Sit down by the fire before you catch your death.
For someone who was so desperate to speak with me,
you don't say much.
Sorry.
What's your name?
What are you doing out here?
Are you alone?
A lot of questions.
Sorry.
You say that a lot.
My name is Nora, what's yours?
You can call me JP, I guess.
JP, what kinda name is that?
What dos it stand for?
I don't know, what do you think?
Now, who's being mysterious?
You never answered my question.
What are you doing living here alone,
out here for all places?
Times are tough all over, that's no secret.
I thought this place would be...
a refuge, I guess.
It can be dangerous out there for a girl all alone.
Somehow I think you can handle yourself.
Why are you looking at me like that, JP?
Have we met?
I feel like I know you.
I bet you say that to all the girls.
Haven't you ever felt that way about someone you just met?
Once.
A long time ago.
So, tell me, is there another way off this peninsula,
other than by ferry?
That depends.
On what?
On how strong a swimmer you are.
I can't swim.
(Nora giggling)
Will I see you again?
You know the way now, don't you?
Do you have to go?
Come with me back to the lighthouse,
at least for a little while before you return.
No, I can't.
I don't understand.
Don't speak of me to Walsh.
Don't speak of you?
Please, JP.
He's mad.
Nora, wait.
(wind howling)
What are you doing?
Did you hear that?
What?
Voices.
Voices?
What were they telling you?
I don't know.
It wasn't quite clear.
More of a low murmur.
Like wind, like the creaking of an old house settling,
like the sounds of an old lighthouse on an unstable ground?
[JP] You think I dreamed it, perhaps.
Who is this, the woman you spoke of?
No.
It's just a drawing.
You were right, there is no girl,
she's just a figment of my imagination or a ghost.
[Walsh] I don't believe in ghosts.
You don't believe in the afterlife?
I've lived through hell and heaven here on Earth
usually by my own design.
No, nothing awaits me after death
except the cold embrace of the grave.
That's a pretty somber outlook.
You're still young, boy, wait until you get to my age,
you might find the promise of oblivion, a reprieve.
What are you doing?
I thought I heard something.
This is my private room, keep out,
I will not warn you again.
Nora.
Come with me.
Where?
I wanna show you something.
What is it?
Come on.
(creature breathing heavily)
What's the meaning of this?
Are you insane?
I warn you, don't let this go out again.
Nora.
What are you doing here, do you want Walsh to see you?
No, but I couldn't stay away, I had to see you.
Come on.
Wait, it's too soon,
you hardly know me.
I know you.
(Nora moaning)
Nora!
It's like a dream, isn't it?
As a child I used to dream of a little boy,
but I'd pinch myself to wake up
because I couldn't bear the thought
of falling in love with someone
who was just a figment of my imagination.
He was so like you.
When I first saw you on the beach, I thought I was dreaming.
I felt the same way, like I dreamt you before we met.
I'm afraid.
Of what?
Being alone again.
This isn't a dream, it's real.
Lately, my mind has been like a book with shuffled pages,
but I'm sure about one thing.
Come with me.
What?
Come with me to San Francisco.
No one leaves this peninsula.
Nonsense.
Where'd you here that, Walsh?
Nora, this sadness isn't like you.
We're all of us more than one person, JP.
I am leaving and I'm asking you
to come with me to San Francisco.
We can build a life there.
Is it possible?
Yes.
Yes, take me with you.
I will.
We'll be together.
Always.
Nora?
(somber melody)
(suspenseful melody)
Nora!
No!
Nora!
Oh my god, no!
Nora!
Don't speak of me to Walsh.
Please, JP, he's mad.
No one leaves this peninsula.
Walsh!
You, you did this.
Did what?
You killed her, you may not have laid a hand on her,
but you killed her just the same.
Killed who?
The girl, she said you were dangerous.
She was afraid of you all along, she was desperate.
You filled her head with lies,
made her think she couldn't leave this place.
I don't know what you're talking about, we're here alone.
How long have I been here?
When's the ferry coming?
Let go of me.
When's it coming?
Tell me.
Two weeks, the ferry will be here in two weeks.
No, you said that before, I want the truth.
(Walsh screaming)
Enough, enough
Be silent, for the love of God, stop!
The voices, you do hear them.
No.
Don't lie to me.
All right, all right!
Yes.
Yes, I hear the voices whispering,
angry, vengeful whispering.
They torment me, torment me.
No.
Don't go down there.
No, no.
Walsh!
Walsh, open the door.
(JP yelps)
Back, damn you, back.
To the lighthouse.
Back, back, you sons of bitches, back to hell, back, now!
What are those things out there?
Phantoms, ghosts?
Ghosts, can a ghost put his bony hand around your throat
and choke the life out of you?
Why you standing there?
Go to the kitchen, go to the back,
light all of the candles, they abhor light.
Go!
They're out there, waiting.
Yes, waiting for us to let down our guard
until the morning sun drives them back into the shadows.
You saved me back there, thank you.
That was twice, boy.
That's for striking me on the beach
when my back was turned.
I probably saved your life.
You should know by now that nobody leaves this peninsula.
You've said that before.
You know exactly what's going on here.
What are those things?
They're my curse, my plague.
Spawn of the destroyer, born of the sepulcher to torment me,
drag me back to hell.
Vengeance.
That is what they want, plain and simple.
You wronged them?
Yes.
Then you know how to appease them.
I cannot change what I have done.
Nothing less than my soul will sate their hunger.
What did you do?
Tell me.
When my wife fell, I wanted to die,
but I was too cowardly to finish myself.
I would drink until I couldn't lift the glass.
Then, one night, I failed to refuel the lamp.
I had let the light go out many times in my drunken stupor,
but this time,
this time a ship suffered the consequences.
A tramp steamer.
I saw it approaching,
I tried to light the signal, but I was too late,
I stood there and watched as it crashed on the rocks.
There were no survivors.
You hid them,
buried them in those catacombs.
It broke into a hundred pieces
and sank beneath the waves.
What little of it washed up on shore I burned.
Most of the men went down with the ruined hulk.
Those that tried to swim to shore,
they never made it, they drowned,
their bodies dashed on the rocks.
In one or two days, there was no trace it had ever happened.
I could almost convince myself it was a bad dream,
almost.
You bastard.
Those men had wives,
families,
they deserve to know.
I couldn't imagine a woman on the widow's walk,
I could see her on the roof of her house
looking out across the horizon
waiting for her husband to return from the sea.
I thought about all those sailor's children.
Lost at sea has a much nicer ring to it than dead.
They could still hope that way.
I could not take that from them.
Do you hear yourself?
You're inhuman.
I'm only human,
I did what any man would've done under the circumstances.
Not every man.
You think you would've done something differently.
I know I would have.
You know nothing, you don't know who you are
until you face a horror yourself.
(phone ringing)
Hello?
[Creature] Let us in.
(house creaking)
(eerie ominous tone)
Nora?
I don't understand?
What's not to understand?
Are you a ghost?
Would a ghost do that?
Why are you afraid?
I'm not afraid.
You said we'd be together always.
You said you'd take me with you to San Francisco.
I'm sorry, but I can't do that.
Why not?
The ferry hasn't come.
Well, then I have a better idea.
You can stay with me here forever.
No!
(Walsh snoring)
Jonathan Percival Walsh.
What are you doing here?
I warned you to stay out of my room.
The light, oh, no.
Hey.
Hey, turn back, the rocks.
(foghorn blowing)
(gears grinding)
(people screaming)
(JP grunting)
For the love of God, man, what are you doing?
(intense music)
You were right.
[Walsh] Was I?
Yes.
I didn't know who I was before, but I do now, I do now.
[Walsh] Is that so?
Yeah.
You're wrong about one thing, though.
[Walsh] What was that?
Those things out there, I believe they can be appeased.
And how do you propose to do that?
I'm going to kill you, lighthouse keeper.
(house grumbling)
(melancholic melody)
(thunder rumbling)
Hello?
Wait, hello?