What would 19th century Germany be without a few furry friends? For his latest dark tale, writer/director Robert Eggers puts his own twist on the classic vampire tale “Nosferatu” using thousands of real rats.

In a recent interview with Deadline, star Emma Corrin talked about what it was like facing a field full of rodents and how they wouldn’t like to try it again.

“Thirty of them were on my bare chest,” Corrin said. “To be honest, I was very brave. I was very stoic, very British actually. And then we were in the scene and I had no top on and it was just terrible. You can’t imagine the smell. And the incontinence was something I really didn’t expect, but it was terrible… It was bad. And yes, they loved my hair, so they sat down with the wig and got in my face. Watch “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!”? Do you know when they had to put their hand in the box with the tarantulas? It was a little bit like, I’m not going to lie.”

Co-star Nicholas Hoult had his own experiences dealing with these difficult scene partners and decided to make the most of it by having fun with some of his fellow castmates, including Bill Skarsgård, who plays the bloodthirsty creature Count Orlok.

“I remember when I opened the coffin and Bill was laying in it and there were rats in it, so he was locked in there with rats and I thought, ‘I’m going to keep getting this wrong, so he did it.’ to do it more and more,” Hoult said. “When we first burst into this room there were 5,000 rats and then they were almost like a carpet. Rat rugs. I will sell this in my Etsy shop.”

While this may seem like a ridiculous affair to the cast and production team, some out there are taking it pretty seriously. In a letter sent to IndieWire and other publications, PETA objected to the use of real rats in “Nosferatu” and the film’s insinuation that they were responsible for the bubonic plague, when in reality it was humans who were responsible for its spread.

“In real life, a human is no more likely to be injured or killed by a rat than by a vampire, and misrepresenting these animals as harbingers of death denies viewers the chance to see them as intelligent, social, and loving individuals to see who they are,” said Lauren Thomasson, PETA’s director of animals in film and television. “The only “Pests” that moviegoers have to deal with are directors who subject animals to the chaos and confusion of a movie set, and PETA encourages everyone to see through these shameful stereotypes and show rats the respect they deserve.”

PETA has decided to protest an upcoming screening of “Nosferatu” for Academy members on Sunday, December 8th at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles. They plan to bring a giant PETA “rat” to spread their message to those who are allowed to otherwise help “Nosferatu” gain fame and glory. For those who still want to attend the performance, it might not be a bad idea to bring a piece of cheese.

Focus Features will release “Nosferatu” in theaters on December 25th.