2024’s gothic horror film Nosferatu, starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, and more, is directed by Robert Eggers. The film is a remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 film of the same name, which was inspired by Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. 2024’s Nosferatu is regarded as a passion project of Robert Eggers, which he announced in 2015 after his debut feature, The Witch.
The filmmaker had shared that he was obsessed with vampires and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In fact, he wrote, directed, and starred in his humble adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu when he was in school. Eggers’ release received a positive response from the audience and critics, making it the highest-grossing movie for the filmmaker. However, Eggers revealed that he had realized that his movie was similar to a very popular DC movie.
Robert Eggers talks about unintentional similarities between Nosferatu and Batman Returns
2024’s Nosferatu starred Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and more. Directed by Robert Eggers, the movie follows a gothic tale of obsession between a vampires who gets infatuated with a young woman, which leads to horror in its wake. The movie holds a 7.6 IMDb rating and an 85% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In his interview with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, the filmmaker was asked about what kind of cinema he was consuming when he decided to make Nosferatu, his passion project. Eggers mentioned that he was watching a lot of Tim Burton at the time and further explained,
I was watching a movie on one of the flights, and I threw on Batman Returns. And I realized that the snowy Gothic atmosphere of that movie is quite shockingly similar to a lot of stuff we are doing here, which was something I never really considered at all when we were making it.
The host pointed out that the actor Max Schreck, who played the vampire in the 1922 silent movie Nosferatu, inspired a character named Max Shreck who was in Tim Burton’s 1992 Batman Returns. The movie is regarded as one of the best Batman movies and went on to gross $267 million. (via Box Office Mojo)
Eggers agreed and further shared that he was also interested in knowing what Kenneth Branagh was doing along with being inspired by David Lynch and Terry Gilliam’s work at the time.
In conversation with ScreenRant, Eggers was asked about his desire to adapt this story rather than a traditional Dracula story, to which he said that he finds the novel a bit overstuffed with Victoriana. He added that F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu feels like a simple fairy tale, and he thinks that the simple fairy tale that is at the core of Bram Stoker’s novel is what made it so adaptable. Eggers mentioned,
Something that I loved about Murnau’s film is that it ends with the female protagonist being the heroine. I thought that it would be potentially more exciting if the whole film were told through her eyes.
The reason why Eggers chose to narrate/show the story through Ellen’s eyes is because he believed that it had the potential to be more emotionally and psychologically complex. He added, that as much as it’s a scary horror movie, it’s also a gothic romance and a tale of love and obsession.
Robert Eggers praises Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp for Nosferatu
The filmmaker spoke to Screen Daily and mentioned that initially when he was planning to make the movie in 2015, he decided to cast Bill Skarsgård in Nicholas Hoult’s role.
The film was on hold, and Skarsgård went on to play Pennywise, a character Eggers felt had so much darkness and then decided that he was best suited for Orlok’s part.
We had a conversation, and I said, ‘I think you can do it. I want you to do it. Let’s work on this build a character and do a screen test. Once I saw the screen test, it was undeniable.
The director also praised the protagonist of the movie, Lily-Rose Depp, as Ellen Hutter, who he said is also passionate about Dracula and has seen all the major versions and some less popular ones too. Talking about Depp’s performance in the movie, the filmmaker mentioned that her performance is so raw and powerful.
Eggers mentioned that the harrowing physical feats she performs are the thing people comment the most about. He added that they should talk about it because they’re incredibly difficult, not just physically but emotionally.
One scene that impressed Robert Eggers is when Lily-Rose Depp’s character gives her monologue in bed, where she’s half recalling and half present.
Nosferatu will be available on digital streaming via premium video on demand from January 21.
Frequently asked questions
Which $267 million DC movie did Robert Eggers say Nosferatu is similar to?
Eggers pointed to Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns, which grossed roughly $267 million. He said he threw it on during a flight and realized its snowy, gothic atmosphere was ‘shockingly similar’ to a lot of what he was doing on Nosferatu, something he never consciously considered while making it. There is also a fun overlap: Max Schreck, the actor who played the vampire in the 1922 Nosferatu, inspired the villain named Max Shreck in Batman Returns.
Who directed and starred in 2024’s Nosferatu?
Nosferatu (2024) was written and directed by Robert Eggers as a long-held passion project he first announced in 2015, and it became his highest-grossing film. Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter and Bill Skarsgard plays Count Orlok, alongside Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The film is a remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic, which was itself inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Why did Robert Eggers tell the story through Ellen’s eyes?
Eggers told ScreenRant he found Stoker’s Dracula a bit overstuffed with Victoriana and preferred the simpler fairy-tale core he saw in Murnau’s Nosferatu. He loved that Murnau’s film ends with the female protagonist as the heroine, so he chose to tell the whole story through Ellen’s eyes to make it more emotionally and psychologically complex, framing it as both a scary horror film and a gothic romance about love and obsession.
