Robert Eggers sinks his cinematic teeth in ‘Nosferatu’

Horror fans are a rabid lot, especially when it comes to the genre’s irrefutable classics—especially those that crept into our nightmares as children at a brief glimpse or scarred our psyches as young adults after a full viewing.

Which is part of the reason for Robert Eggers nosferatu, opening on Christmas Day, has become one of the most anticipated remakes of all time. Eggers has so far only made four films (The Witch, the Northman and The lighthouse), but he’s already revered for his compelling characters and historical accuracy, both of which elevate otherwise fantastic and macabre cinematic work.

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Remakes of German filmmaker FW Murnau’s 1922 silent expressionist masterpiece Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror has been done before, but never by an auteur so clearly inspired by its singularly attacking essence and aesthetic. It is almost as if his entire oeuvre has led to the creation of this very piece of beautiful, dark celluloid.

The expectations are admittedly high, but Eggers has lived up to them; early buzz and Rotten Tomatoes scores already confirm that. The all-star cast (Lily Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgård and Willem Dafoe) certainly bring this enchanted vision to life (and death), but it’s the filmmaker’s gift for fusing period elements with haunting slowburn storytelling that makes this nightmarish new version take beyond the shadowy appeal of the original.

During a recent interview with Los AngelesEggers admits there were challenges involved in making Nosferatu. “But there were also options because there are so many versions,” he tells me. “There are things that are scary, like shooting Thomas coming to the castle and meeting the vampire for the first time… It’s a sequence that’s been done really well in many versions.”

“You also have to think about what hasn’t really been explored, which really should be,” he continues. “I think what struck me is that we have to tell the story through the eyes of the female protagonist, you know, we have the opportunity, potentially, for the story to be more emotionally and psychologically complex than it ever has It’s not just a scary horror movie, but it’s more than that. It’s a story of obsession and love.”

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The original is in many ways the starting point for all that is terrible and bloodthirsty on film, from Universal Monsters to Interview with a vampire. Desire and possession were major themes in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, which inspired Nosferatu and everything in the aftermath. And over the years, the story’s erotic subtext has almost become the point. Modern vampires are seductive and rarely as ugly as the original goblin-like creature of the silent short. Eggers clearly strove to bring us a bit of both.

SPOILER ALERT: There has already been quite a bit of controversy surrounding his design and appearance of the titular vamp, who hasn’t been shown in trailers or movie promotion other than his creepy fingers and pointy claws. I was admittedly surprised at some of his choices at first, but felt they were right for the character by the story’s conclusion.

Whether it’s because of Skarsgård (best known for his role as the killer clown in Thebut unrecognizable here) and his arresting performance or Eggers’ special effects team and gift for immersive world-building, I’m not sure, but if you don’t want to know what Nosferatu looks like before you see the movie, skip the next two episodes.

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“I was trying to understand how to make vampires scary again,” Eggers says of his decision to make Count Orlok/Nosferatu a monstrous figure with a mustache. “(He) is so iconic with the bald head and the pointy ears,” he explains “And you know, the last vampire we saw was Edward Cullen.Twilight), which is not particularly scary. I had to ask myself, ‘what would a dead Transylvanian noble really look like?

He came up with an impressive figure in a Hungarian costume, “with these long sleeves” and “facial hair”, and defends his choice, adding “try to find a Transylvanian gentleman without a moustache. Think Vlad the Impaler…. Also, Bram Stoker had the insight in his book to give Dracula a moustache.There are definitely some people who don’t like it, but I would say there are more people who understand the reasons for it and feel that it gives it a kind of authenticity.”

Speaking of which, Dafoe’s Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, who helps unravel the sinister connection between long-suffering Ellen Cutter (Depp) and the Count, as well as the plague it brings to their German town, depicts an era where medicine and mystical beliefs collided in fiery fashion.

Following up on his breakout role in The lighthouse (coincidentally next door Twilight‘s Cullen, aka Robert Pattinson), he’s a grounded but charismatic force in the Nosferatu. When I ask the actor – who has also just worked with Tim Burton Beetlejuice Beetlejuice— about his experience on this second film with Eggers, he gives high praise.

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“All his films are very personal, which is usually not the case, especially when you go to a period film,” he says. “He’s very well read in history… these stories, these fables, they tell us about ourselves because they take us away from all the noise we’re walking around with every day. And he can really play with the language of cinema in a way , which you might not be able to in a more naturalistic contemporary film. He’s invested in this, and he does such research, he’s great with actors, and he designs these beautiful images that actors can fold into.”

It may be hard for Eggers to top himself after this one, but after talking to him, it’s clear that his hunger for storytelling is as fierce as his centerpiece animal for meat. He says he has more to put out into the world, including some scripts already started, but he also acknowledges that Nosferatu is his masterpiece, for now, “It’s a culmination of things I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” he admits.

Viewers will find themselves getting lost in the fear and fantasy and perhaps even feeling conflicted with what the filmmaker is trying to convey. Exploring the darkness between good and evil is familiar territory for Eggers (I’m still not sure what The witch really tried to say). But the sense of dread that drips from almost every scene, word and background Nosferatu is certainly more visual and sensual than narratively insightful. And that’s more than enough for a satisfying movie experience. It’s a film to drink and digest, for fans of horror and more.