In 2015, Robert Eggers released his final short film and first feature film. His upcoming feature,Nosferatu,is expected to release sometime in 2024, though no official release date has been confirmed. The film will star a few frequent collaborators of Eggers and a number of first-time partnerships. These stars, in addition to Eggers' own filmmaking style and previous works, make him the perfect director to tackle the iconic horror figure.
In a 2016 interview, Eggers citedNosferatuand the severalDraculaadaptations as some of the most influential films for his filmmaking career. Eggers has strived to make hisNosferatufilm for several years, and after a few setbacks, the principal photography for Eggers' film wrapped last month. With several horror films under his belt and profound personal knowledge andinterest inNosferatuandDraculalore, his ability to mimic the era in which these films are set visually is a skill that lends him well to craft a genuine authenticity of the Romanticism period they hope to personify.
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Who is Nosferatu?
The Nosferatu character and subsequent films are adapted from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novelDracula.The 1922 film version,Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horroris the film that Eggers is remaking. In Stoker’s novel, Nosferatu goes by the name Count Dracula, whichhas spawned its own sect of vampire films. However, the 1922 film renamed him Count Orlok, which Eggers will continue to use in his upcoming film. Eggers will also keep the names of its human characters Thomas and Ellen Hutter, as well as a few others.
Despite most assumptions, Nosferatu is not the name of the character but is understood as another word for vampire. Naturally, Nosferatu’s character isa vampire who feeds off of the bloodof the living. Originating from Transylvania, he lives alone in a castle and sleeps in a coffin filled with dirt he has excavated from his own grave. As a vampire, he is primarily active at night when most of the living are asleep, leaving him to rest during the day.
Who will star in Nosferatu?
In Eggers' film,Bill Skarsgård will star as Count Orlok, the notorious Nosferatu figure. He will be joined by Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp, who will play Thomas and Ellen Hutter respectively. The Hutters find themselves trapped in Orlok’s castle and task themselves with ridding the world of his dangerous affliction. Herr Knock, the estate agent who sends Thomas to Orlok, will be played by Simon McBurne. These characters will be joined by others from the 1922 film, including Fredrich Harding who will be played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Dr. Sievers who will be played by Ralph Ineson. Emma Corrin will play Anna Harding while Willem Dafoe will play Professor Von Franz.
Nosferatuwill mark the third collaboration between Eggers and Dafoe, as well as Eggers and Ineson.Dafoe and Eggers previously collaboratedonThe LighthouseandThe Northman,while Ineson worked with Eggers onThe WitchandThe Northman.Whether these stars have worked with Eggers previously or not, each of them has previously worked in a period piece that provides them with the experience to prepare for a role in an Eggers-led version ofNosferatu.
Eggers' ability to mimic the time period
Except forThe Northmanand Eggers' short filmBrothers,Eggers has primarily made horror or thriller films. Yet, with only three features and three short films under his belt, Eggers has dabbled in several eras, vastly experimenting with his filmmaking. Perhapsthe first of Eggers' filmsthat comes to mind in this regard isThe Lighthouse,which is likely to be the closest of Eggers' feature films to matchNosferatu. However, Eggers' short films, are both literary adaptations. His adaptations ofHansel and GretelandThe Tell-Tale Heartboth channel the gothic tones of the respective literary texts.Hansel and Gretelis a monochrome silent film eerily shot to exaggerate the gothic tone of the story, which uses intertitles to explain the story of the titular characters. Many of the images are overexposed and the colors are often muddled. However, as Eggers' first film, it begins to establish what he’s interested in doing as a filmmaker. Subsequently,The Tell-Tale Heartis much tighter in its cinematography and shot composition, beginning to establish some of the tactics Eggers would later utilize in his feature debut withThe Witch.
A large part of Eggers' success in mimicking a time period is due to the cinematography. Jarin Blaschke, the cinematographer for Eggers’Nosferatu,has previously worked with Eggers on his three feature films, earning an Academy Award nomination for his work onThe Lighthouse.Nosferatuis often regarded for its German Expressionist style and its use of contrast and shadow, but Henrik Galeen who wrote the screenplay for the 1922 film, had profound experience with romanticism. Eggers and Blaschke are likely to channel both expressionism and romanticism inNosferatu,and Blaschke may find himself receiving anotherAcademy Award nomination for his cinematographyafter its release. Should Eggers lean into romanticism,Nosferatuwill likely have an extremely subjective approach, particularly due to the period’s access to emotion and expression of loss and individualism.
What makes Eggers the ideal candidate to adaptNosferatuis not only his adoration of the vampire tale and knowledge of its rich history but his ability to use his filmmaking style to transport viewers into a previous era. His work onThe Witch, The Lighthouse,andThe Northmanare all examples of Eggers' ability to do so; however,his early short filmsHansel and GretelandThe Tell-Tale Heartare stronger cases of this. The comfort for Eggers to work with crew and cast members he’s previously collaborated with, allows him to test the bounds of what he’s able to do with his own take on the classic vampire tale.
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