Filmmaker Robert Eggers is known for moody, earthy, and elemental films like “The VVitch,” “The Lighthouse,” and “The Northman.” Now he is taking on the challenge of remaking the beloved 1922’s horror film, “Nosferatu.”
The remake 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. Though the original “Nosferatu” is probably best known for almost being sued out of existence. Because it is a blatant adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” long before the novel was in the public domain. Or as a reference on the children’s show “Spongebob Squarepants.”
“I’m trying to go beyond what I’m capable of,” Eggers said to Empire about “Nosferatu.” “As always, it was a difficult shoot. Last night we were doing a scene on a ship with a lot of rain and waves, and the rain deflector, which tries to blow rain out of the lens, was breaking down and fogging.”
Luckily Eggers got plenty of experience shooting with waves on his previous film “The Lighthouse.” Not to mention all the water involved in his Viking-based epic “The Northman.”
“I’m so happy to have made The Northman first and to have learned what I learned,” Eggers said. “When I think about the production plan of Nosferatu that we had the first time around, I’m sure I would have somehow pulled it out of my butt, but it’s hard not to imagine it being a failure.”
While “Nosferatu” has been a passion project for the director for almost a decade now. It seems the lag time gave him plenty of experience to develop this upcoming project. This journey also led him to work with actor Willem Dafoe on previous films.
“Willem’s up for anything and he’ll cut his arm off for the scene,”* Eggers said about his work on “The Lighthouse.” “He is a fucking pleasure to work with: he was in The Northman, he was in [the upcoming] Nosferatu, I hope I never made a movie without him.”
The actor also played Max Schreck in 2000’s “Shadow of the Vampire.” That film is a fictionalized behind the scenes of the making of the original “Nosferatu.” So Dafoe is already very familiar with the property and its lore. (There is a rumor the pair plan to remake the Lars von Trier film “Antichrist,” which also starred Dafoe, and a lot of dismemberment.)
Dafoe will be starring in “Nosferatu” alongside Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård. The film is expected to come out sometime in 2024. We’ll keep you posted on updates as they become available.
