Robert Eggers Bringing Back Creepy Horror in His Take on the Most Influential Vampire Movie Ever Mad

Robert Eggers has gradually earned himself a stellar reputation in Hollywood. Starting with his breakout hit The Witch, Eggers has gone on to receive praise for his unsettling black-and-white story The Lighthouse and revenge tale of The Northman. Before the making of those two well-received movies, Eggers already had his eye on remaking one of the most iconic horror films ever made.

Released in 1922, Nosferatu remains the most influential vampire movie ever made, and yet, Eggers’ upcoming Christmas Day release will only be its second remake, following Nosferatu the Vampyre in 1979. While it’d be fair to eye roll at another remake, the masterpiece of the silent era looks to be in the right hands for a modern remake, and better still, it could mark a realignment of vampires to their true realms of horror.

Bringing back the horror icon

Across his four feature films and the short films he made before the 2015 release of The Witch, Eggers has clearly demonstrated a penchant for exploring myths, folklore, and historical settings with authenticity. So, when it comes to doing a remake of Nosferatu, you just know that Eggers is going to be leaning heavily into the eerie setting and looking to draw heavily from the potential of a full horror flick.

As he’s showcased in his four films, Eggers has an uncanny ability to create truly chilling atmospheres, which is exactly what made the original silent film so captivating. Nosferatu wasn’t an all-out horror as we know the genre today, but the 2024 movie’s CinemaCon trailer indicates that the remake will be. It comes complete with spurting blood and some 2,000 real rats that Willem Dafoe had to stand amongst.

While he wasn’t able to call upon Anya Taylor-Joy again, Eggers did manage to assemble a superb cast for Nosferatu. The ever-creepy Bill Skarsgård will bring Count Orlock back to the big screen and will be joined by Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Nicholas Hoult, and the aforementioned Dafoe. It has all the makings of a strong return for Nosferatu – especially as Universal are confident enough to give it a theatrical release.

Vampires returning to horror

While we have had vampiric outings in which the creature or Dracula is portrayed within the horror genre, the biggest hits of the modern era have been the love interest vampires. The five Twilight movies from 2008 to 2012 made over $3.3 billion worldwide, and at its peak in 2010, the TV show True Blood boasted an audience of 13 million viewers for an episode, bowing out in 2014 with a decent four million live viewers.

Those two stories may have faded from the forefront of entertainment media, but their fingerprints can still be seen and their influences are still enjoyed. The prime example of this comes by way of one of the casino slots tied to popular progressive jackpot prizes. Immortal Romance Mega Moolah is very clearly of the romantic vampire era. Yet, it’s probably more the iconic mechanics and its Mega Moolah ties that uphold it as popular today.

Even with the wave of vampire romances, most still identify horror-based vampire movies as the pinnacle of the creature’s deployment. Along with 1922’s Nosferatu, Let the Right One In (2008), Salem’s Lot (1979), Thirst (2009), and Cronos (1993) all earned praise for their creepy takes on vampirism and rank among the all-time best vampire movies.

Hopefully, the Nosferatu remake earns its place among the vampire and horror greats when it releases late this year.