This article contains spoilers for Nosferatu.
After a long journey that began with a teenage Robert Eggers directing and starring in a high school stage production of ” Nosferatu
the filmmaker explains why he decided to remake the silent film classic instead of adapting its source material. Related to Dracula, the epistolary novel by Bram Stoker from 1897, the original silent film from 1922 Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, or simply Nosferatu, follows Count Orlok, an ancient vampire who is obsessed with a real estate agent’s wife. Eggers is the latest director to take on the remake Nosferatu Story with Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok.

In conversation with Screen rantEggers explained why he decided to remake FW Murnaus Nosferatu rather than adapting Stoker’s beloved novel. Although Eggers loves the novel, he admitted that it is too heavily influenced by the Victorian period in which it is set. He says that too he prefers Murnau’s creative decision to let the female protagonist become the heroine until the credits roll. By focusing on the female protagonist, Eggers believed there was a much more compelling story To be honest, one that he felt worked better for him than Stoker’s novel. Read his full comments below:

I mean, as much as I love the novel, it’s a little overloaded with Victoriana. I think that the Murnau adaptation is just a simple fairy tale. I actually believe that this simple fairy tale, which is at the heart of Stoker’s novel, is what has made it so adaptable and versatile and so inspiring to people over the last century.

What I particularly liked about the Murnau film is that in the end the female protagonist is the heroine. I thought it might be more exciting if the entire film was told from her perspective because it had the potential to be more emotionally and psychologically complex than an adventure story about a real estate agent. As much as it is a scary horror film, and it is, there are even jump scares, it is a gothic romance and it is a story of love and obsession.

From her perspective, I think we can really get more into that mode without it becoming a tragic anti-hero story of a vampire in love, which I’m also less interested in.

What this means for Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu

There is a reason for this Nosferatu Became influential

There is a long story between Stoker’s classic novel and Murnau’s silent film. The latter began as an unofficial adaptation of the former and eventually faced legal action that resulted in the destruction of most copies of the film. Thanks to several surviving copies Nosferatu has become an influential piece for the horror genre and film as a wholeand even secured first place in the 2024 rankings Dracula Adaptations by Screen Rant.

Related

Every Robert Eggers film ranked from worst to best (including The Northman)

Robert Eggers’ third feature, The Northman, is a brutal retelling of a well-known story, but how does it compare to The Witch and The Lighthouse?

Eggers’ fondness for Nosferatu above Dracula and his expected deep immersion in research ultimately resulted in a narrative that was emotionally and psychologically more complex than Stoker’s novel. The socio-political observations of the Victorian era are set aside and the dark fairy tale that lies in the bones of Stoker is doubled down Dracula, Eggers’ Nosferatu was allowed to deliver a potential With this decision, modern audiences were able to definitively interpret Nosferatu and even Dracula early on.

Our opinion on Robert Eggers preferring Nosferatu to Dracula

My favorite adaptation of the legendary vampire was Francis Ford Coppola’s extravagant take on the source material Bram Stoker’s Dracula, an elaborate mix of melodrama and gothic romance. Now this adaptation is either in first place or a close second. With Eggers’ version, vampires are scary again. While it’s nice to have such a variety of vampires, it’s even so It’s better to remember the kind of horror they portrayed and see what Stoker may have originally intended for the character that has been lost over the years Dracula’s has been adapted for film over thirty times.

Focusing on Nosferatu’s insatiable lust for Ellen and the consequences it ultimately brings, Eggers tells an animalistic and violent love story that doesn’t seem convoluted, but is still complex and delicate when it comes to his character’s emotions and psyche , which he extends to all characters. By focusing largely on Victoriana, Nosferatu feels more like a dark fairytale full of folklore, making it equally creepy and seductive. With the big change of giving Ellen the chance to be her own heroine, like Murnau’s 1922 silent film, Eggers’ Nosferatu ends as something that, while tragic, is still satisfyingly empowering.

Your changes have been saved

My list

My favorite films
My watchlist

Nosferatu is a remake of director FW Murnau’s 1922 silent film of the same name. Robert Eggers is writing and directing his own version of the story for the remake, with Bill Skarsgård taking on the role of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the story of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire who is completely in love with her.

Release date

December 25, 2024

Duration

132 minutes

Character(s)

Count Orlok, Ellen Hutter, Thomas Hutter, Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, Friedrich Harding, Anna Harding, Knock, Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, dock worker, head nurse

Studio(s)

Regency Enterprises, 1492 images

Sales partner

Focus functions, universal images

Expand