Written and directed by John Baumgartner, Beneath the Light is a psychological thriller that explores grief, memory, and the unknown, set in a stunning, remote coastal lighthouse. What begins as a simple renovation job unravels into a ghostly coincidence, blurring the line between past and present.
Jacob (Zach Tinker) arrives too late at the nursing home to see his mother before she dies; the nurse tells him she “wouldn’t have known who he was” even if he had arrived earlier. Needing money and time to get his head on straight, Jacob accepts a quick job renovating a remote lighthouse on an island only accessible by boat. Olivia (Ana Nicolle Chavez), who works at a nearby bar, ferries him across. At the lighthouse, he meets Jim Murdoch (John Pyper-Ferguson), the owner, who wants to sell the lighthouse quickly since his wife recently passed away, and the tragic memories are too much to bear. Jim is wary, letting Jacob stay after he mentions being a friend of Jim’s daughter Claire, and warns him not to sleep on the bed by the door or open the closet.
When Jim departs overnight to get supplies, Jacob is left alone, increasingly unsettled by strange sounds, ghostly presences, and blurred boundaries between memory and reality. Jacob tries to recount his childhood with Claire, but Jim becomes hostile and threatens to fire him. In response, Jim reveals that Claire died in an accident at the lighthouse the same year Jacob was born — meaning it would have been impossible for them to be childhood friends. Yet Jacob’s memories are vivid and intimate, making the contradiction impossible to ignore.
The longer Jacob stays at the lighthouse, the more real Claire’s ghost becomes, and the more Jacob’s ability to sleep, think, or stay sane goes down the toilet. Jacob and Jim engage in a tug-of-war between the memories they have of Claire and the supernatural secret they both share.
John Pyper-Ferguson as lighthouse owner Jim Murdoch in Beneath the Light.
“The longer Jacob stays at the lighthouse, the more real Claire’s ghost becomes.”
As someone who grew up near the beaches of Southern California, right away, I’m drawn to the beauty of the sea in Beneath the Light. Its lighthouse setting is both gorgeous and creepy, becoming the perfect backdrop for a horror thriller. After interviewing other filmmakers who shoot scenes on boats, director John Baumgartner makes it look effortless on an indie level.
Beneath the Light opens with an intriguing plot. How did Jacob have a childhood friendship with Jim’s daughter Claire when the two were not alive at the same time? The answer may lie in the fact that Baumgartner’s co-writer and producer, Dr. Cindy Davis Seng, is a psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic. No spoilers, but maybe Beneath the Light suggests themes of grief, loss, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and how tragic events have a way of playing with our memory and perception of reality.
The film is anchored by the performances of Zach Tinker and John Pyper-Ferguson as Jacob and Jim.. It would have been easy to play it over the top, but it stays grounded to the end. Ultimately, I enjoyed the balance of horror, drama, and thrills in Beneath the Light. Baumgartner and Seng deliver a thoughtful tale about life and death, delivering an atypical drama.
For screening information and updates, visit the official website for Beneath the Light.
"…enjoyed the balance of horror, drama, and thrills..."
