“I was in LA, we were in the boardroom at Focus Features, and they did this big presentation,” explains Nosferatu‘s writer-director Robert Eggers as we chat over Zoom about the acclaimed and lucrative film’s promotional campaign. “I already knew about most of the stuff that was going on, but it was the first time in a long time in my career that I was totally flummoxed and didn’t know what to say. I felt like a kid because I was so overwhelmed by everything they were throwing at the film. It was very cool.”
Nosferatu, a remake of the 1922 film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, itself based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and a terrifying and infatuated vampire. The forbidden otherworldly tryst leaves death, tragedy, and untold horror in its wake. Nosferatu, which stars Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe Willem Dafoe, and Emma Corrin, is still in theaters but is now also available on digital platforms to own or rent.
Made for $50 million, Nosferatu has grossed $156.3 million, and it’s nominated for four Oscars.
“A massive part of the success of the film has been the marketing,” Eggers continues. “The really creative, splashy stuff, the events, the sigil decoding, and all that stuff came from Focus Features marketing team. I was very involved in the trailers, although I must say, even the first drafts of all those; although I gave it like a million notes, the first drafts were already incredibly strong. I feel like I was more fascistic about typefaces and poster art.”
‘Nosferatu’ Became A Pop Culture Phenomenon
Nosferatu has truly entered the pop culture zeitgeist. In addition to traditional promotional items such as imposing standees in movie theater lobbies and themed popcorn buckets, fans of the film can shell out $20,000 to buy a full-size replica sarcophagus bed. However, it’s not the first time Eggers has had a taste of this with one of his films.
“The fact that there’s a market for Black Phillip t-shirts and stuffies is something I never expected when I was making The Witch, so it’s all pretty wild. I’ve got no complaints, but I was not expecting this,” he admits.
Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter in ‘Nosferatu.’
For many, Nosferatu will be the introduction to the classic story that has taken various forms in countless films, all based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Horror fans have lauded Eggers’ movie, but it has also found a much wider audience. That was another thing he didn’t see coming.
“You’re doing creative work like this to share what it is to be human with other human beings through your particular lens, even if you’re using 19th-century Gothic vampire stories to talk about it,” Eggers muses. “The more people it is speaking to, the happier I am, but inspiring teenagers is always the most exciting thing for me because the movies you see as a young person can be the things that are the most transformative if storytelling is something that you’re keen to do. Whenever I see a movie now that I’m really inspired by, I’m so happy, but it doesn’t have the same profound impact as the things I saw when I was a teenager and in my early 20s.”
“It’s weird because I’ve certainly been less engaged with all the bits and bobs surrounding this movie compared to my other films. I’ve been working on it for so long, and it’s so important to me that I get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff going on, so I have sometimes had my head in the sand a bit.
Why ‘Nosferatu’ Now Contains Extra Footage
The version of Nosferatu available on digital platforms contains footage that wasn’t in the theatrical cut. However, it’s only about four minutes of extra material.
“The final cut in theaters is my cut of the movie,” Eggers explains. “It’s not like an agreement and this and what you’re going to see now is what I actually wanted, or better, it’s just that, in the context of seeing it in the cinemas, there was a pace that is needed to keep the audience engaged. Here we get to listen to Willem Dafoe talk a lot more, listen to Bill talk a lot a bit more, enjoy some sheep in Transylvania a bit more, so it’s that kind of thing.”
Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter in ‘Nosferatu.’
Nosferatu will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, containing the extended cut and bonus content that includes behind-the-scenes and additional deleted footage. “Maybe it could happen with some more time and money, but they just didn’t find their way with the budget and the time to easily edit them back into the film,” adds the writer-director.
Nosferatu, which is also nominated for five BAFTAs and four Critics Choice awards, looks certain to remain in the public’s popular culture consciousness. As is the case with horror icons such as Dracula, Freddy Krueger, and The Babadook, expect Bill Skarsgård’s grotesque Count Orlok to be an annual Halloween costume favorite from now on.
‘Nosferatu’ Will Rise Again
However, does Eggers, whose next project will be a new genre movie, Werwulf, have plans for Nosferatu living on in a new form? Could it follow in the footsteps of the 1922 film and receive screenings accompanied by live orchestration? Maybe.
“I think someone came to Robin Carolan, the composer, to ask him if that would be something he would be interested in doing, and I would think it would be super cool,” he says. “I’m pretty fired up about doing the next thing. Nosferatu is close to my heart in a way that is going to be hard to replicate, but I don’t need to replicate it, because there are other things that I’m also passionate about. There are traces of Nosferatu in The Witch and The Lighthouse, and probably even in The Northman, so it’s always going to be a part of me. You can’t escape yourself.”
In addition to Werwulf, Eggers will direct a sequel to Jim Henson’s classic 1986 movie Labyrinth. Now that Nosferatu is available to watch at home, Eggers agrees it is the perfect opportunity to pair it with another film as a double bill. He’s already played with this idea during the film’s theatrical run and recommends fans recreate it.
“At New York’s Lincoln Center, I programmed a little series of films that inspired Nosferatu, and any of those would work,” he recommends as our chat draws to a close. “Because it’s a remake of Nosferatu, it’s hard not just to have Nosferatu on the brain, but the film that was the biggest cinematic influence on this, aside from the original Nosferatu, is Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. It might bring out certain aspects of Nosferatu that you hadn’t considered if you watched them together. Anyway, it’s a good movie, regardless. The Piano would also be an interesting pairing. There are a lot of things you could do.”
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