Robert Eggers fans can now rejoice. The very talented and meditative director has just wrapped on the filming of his upcoming film Nosferatu. The film is a remake of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. With filming coming to a conclusion, let’s get into what we know and can expect from Eggers’ fourth feature film.
What We Know
So far, we don’t know much, but that’s what feels most intriguing. We know the bulk of the cast, which I’ll get into, and boy is it exciting. I’m pretty sure Eggers cast exclusively good looking people in this which also is enticing.
Plot wise, there isn’t too much to work with. According to the Nosferatu Letterboxd page, the plot is described as “A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.” Yup, I’m in. Take my money Robert Eggers because I AM ALL IN. Eggers is working with Regency Enterprises, Studio 8, and 1492 Pictures in co-production. This isn’t the first time Regency Enterprises and Eggers have teamed up as they worked with him on his last two feature films, The Lighthouse and The Northman.
Like I mentioned prior, we don’t know too much about the film, but I’m okay with that. I like that there’s some curiosity and mystique still hanging in the wind. The film is set to release at some point in 2024. If I had to guess, it’d be in the first third of 2024, especially seeing that filming has just wrapped on the picture.
What Can We Expect?
While we still have a lot of unanswered questions about the project, we should have an idea as to what we can expect in Eggers’ Nosferatu. His past films like The Lighthouse and The Witch are weird. They’re weird in a good way. Eggers finds a way to make you uncomfortable in his films, but also engaged. With the plot of Nosferatu being about a vampire stalker following a girl and terrorizing her, I think it’s safe to say we’ll once again be made uncomfortable, but also gripped by Eggers’ tight script writing.
In his 2022 flick The Northman, we saw a good amount of brutal violence. The barbaric Viking fight sequences left nothing to be imagined. Eggers showed the gory aspects and I love that he takes chances like that. The same goes for The Witch. There are some grim segments of body contortion and evil energy.
What I think we can expect from Nosferatu is a creepy film that makes your heart race a bit, but one that also tells a clear and concise story of compulsion. If you’re a fan of Eggers, then you’re going to get exactly what you want.
The Cast
Robert Eggers is really great at assembling riveting casts for his films. His 2019, The Lighthouse featured, essentially a two man show of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. Last year, his epic historical Viking thriller, The Northman had a fantastic cast of Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe. For Nosferatu, Eggers is back with Dafoe and a Skarsgård relative. Dafoe, a frequent collaborator with Eggers, is set to play Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz and Alexanders Skarsgårds brother Bill will be in the lead as Count Orlok, or more commonly known as Nosferatu. The casting of Bill Skarsgård as Nosferatu is one I love. He’s a fantastic horror actor as he excelled in Barbarian and It. For Dafoe, he simply kills every role he’s in.
Other cast members consist of the gorgeous Lily-Rose Depp who is no stranger to uncomfortable cinema. She acted in Tusk and Silent Night; two films that make your stomach turn. Nicholas Hoult has been cast as Thomas Hutter and this makes me thrilled. I’m a huge Nicholas Hoult fan as he’s great in Mad Max: Fury Road and The Menu. What’s interesting is that this is the second Vampire film Hoult will be in. He starred in Renfield alongside Nicolas Cage which came out this year.
A final note on the cast and one that’s sure to get the film community excited is the casting of Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding. Taylor-Johnson stole the hearts of film bros across the globe for his dynamic performance as Tangerine in Bullet Train last year. Taylor-Johnson has great range starring as Dave Lizewski in the Kick-Ass series while also appearing in Tenet, Nocturnal Animals, and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
My Expectations
In my viewings of Eggers films, I haven’t fully clicked with him to be completely honest. Stylistically, I truly adore them. He makes his films feel grim and look gray to build up tension and an unnerving inkling which I do enjoy. I also think his writing is tight and clean. He wants to tell a story so he tells a story and he does an amazing job of that. But there are certain directors that it takes me a little while to click with. One that’s in that category is Guillermo del Toro. I used to mock the idea of his Best Picture winning film The Shape of Water, but then I watched it and truly enjoyed it.
Even though we’re probably more than a year away from Nosferatu, it’s one of my most anticipated films of 2024. Something feels right with this one. From the packed cast of recurring Eggers collaborators to the gothic theme of obsession hits me in the right spot. Much like The Killer this year, I’ll undoubtedly seek out Nosferatu in theaters.
