Ask anyone who’s seen a Robert Eggers movie and they’ll tell you: don’t piss off an animal. For one thing, they don’t like it. For another, they’re probably harbingers of supernatural doom.
In Eggers’ debut film, The Witch, a pilgrim family living in isolation in New England ran afoul of a goat named “Black Phillip,” who was either the devil himself or just a really, really, REALLY bad goat. Either way, Black Phillip was responsible for some unspeakable horrors.
His new film, The Lighthouse, finds Robert Pattinson playing a lighthouse keeper who runs afoul of a particularly annoying seagull. But despite the warnings of his partner, played by Willem Dafoe, who says killing a sea bird brings misfortune, Pattinson can’t help himself, and brings a deadly hurricane down upon them.
The seagull doesn’t get nearly as much screen time as Black Phillip, and unlike that demonic goat we never learn its name. But Bloody-Disgusting interviewed Robert Eggers and confirmed that it has one.
“The script was called ‘One Eye,’” Eggers says, before he laughs and quickly corrects himself. “I’m sorry, the script was called ‘The Lighthouse.’ The seagull was called ‘One Eye’ in the script. But the gull was played by Lady, Tramp and Johnny.”
The goat who played Black Phillip in The Witch, Charlie, was notoriously difficult to work with. Ralph Ineson, who played the patriarch William in Eggers’ acclaimed first film, even says that Charlie gored him on set.
But seagulls? Apparently they’re great.
“The seagulls were incredibly easy to work with and incredibly intelligent and incredibly well trained and incredibly cooperative,” Eggers confirmed.
“You can’t train a goat. You can’t. You can’t. So I don’t recommend making a movie with a goat in a major role to anyone,” Eggers suggests.
If any goats would like to take issue with Robert Eggers’ assessment, please leave a comment below.
And go see The Lighthouse, now playing in limited theaters!
