Robert Eggersmade a name for himself this year with hisindie horrormovieThe Witch, which did fairly well at the box office but was an even bigger hit with critics. Now, he will be taking on a pretty big project, not so much in terms of scope but in terms of the expectations that will surely be placed on it. The director has confirmed that his next movie will be a remake of the all-time classic German vampire movieNosferatu.
The Witchdirector was recently a guest on theFilmmaker Toolkitpodcast. During the course of the interview,Robert Eggersconfirmed that theNosferaturemake will be his next movie, with the project in development since last summer. Here is what he had to say about it.
“[It’s shocking] to me. It feels ugly and blasphemous and egomaniacal and disgusting for a filmmaker in my place to do Nosferatu next. I was really planning on waiting a while, but that’s how fate shook out.”
The originalNosferatuis one of the most iconic and beloved movies of the silent era and remains one of the most influential and respectedhorror moviesever made. So, even though it may seem like relative blasphemy to try and remake the movie, at leastRobert Eggersappears to understand the gravity of taking on this project. Not only that, but he has been a lifelong fan of the movie. During the podcast, he talked about seeing a picture ofMax Schreckas Count Orlok in the movie. He then made his mom drive to the mall so he could get a VHS copy ofNosferatu. He later directed a version of the play as a senior in HS, which led him to be recruited to re-state the play a professional level.
With all of that factored in, it seems likeRobert Eggerscould very well be the right guy to remakeNosferatu.Werner Herzogalso did a remake ofNosferatuin the 70s that was well received at the time, but the 1922 version from German directorF.W. Mernauremains the definitive version by a wide margin. Part of the reason that a remake ofNosferatuis a difficult task is that even though the movie is nearly 100 years old, it still manages to land with modern audiences. The director also teased that his version ofNosferatuwill be a bit different and will explore the origins of the vampire.
Robert Eggers' firstfeature lengthmovieThe Witchmade a respectable $40 million at the box office against a very small budget. Perhaps more importantly, the movie has a 91 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a major hit with critics. Something not typical in the horror genre. The success of that movie helped get thisNosferaturemake moving forward. The movie doesn’t yet have a release date, but it will be made forJeff Robinov’s production company Studio 8.
