The New King of Horror Films
- annalikeswriting
- 19 hours ago
- 4 min read
Vampires, Werewolves, and Months of Linguistic Research
By: Anna Oswald
Perhaps one of the oddest film successes during the winter holidays last year was the historical horror film Nosferatu, which grossed almost $182 million worldwide and became Focus Features’ seventh highest-grossing film.
The film was celebrated for its terrifying titular character, creepy narrative and scenes, and spine-chilling special effects, but also for its impressive historical accuracy and attention to deeper themes, such as loneliness, gender roles, and even mental health.
The genius behind the film is Robert Eggers. But who exactly is he?
The director grew up in Lee, New Hampshire, where he became heavily involved with a children’s theater company (Oyster River Payers) while he was a teenager. He pursued his studies at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, during which he would often return home to New Hampshire to direct and act in plays.
This was a key period for Eggers, during which he experimented with art and costume design for a variety of theater and film productions.
He then began making short films, particularly his own adaptations of the famous tales “Hansel & Gretel” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Both of these short films were shown at various festivals and helped propel Eggers into the limelight to showcase his unique style of horror films.
In 2015, Eggers released his first full-length film, The Witch, which revolves around a Puritan family in 17th-century New England. Before writing and directing the movie, Eggers diligently researched Puritan beliefs and values, dialect, and folklore of the time period. The film not only brought Eggers a Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival and the Sutherland Prize for Best Feature in London, but it also drew attention to the actors of The Witch, such as Anya Taylor-Joy.
Eggers then co-wrote and directed his next film, The Lighthouse (2019). The film stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers living in 1890s New England. Accompanying the film’s eerie plot was Eggers’ decision to present it entirely in black and white and a 1.19:1 ratio, accurately mimicking the style of late 19th-century films.
Eggers’ The Northman, released in 2022, included an even more vibrant cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, and even Bjork. To authenticate the plot of the movie, which is based on the epic Viking story of Amleth, Eggers co-wrote the movie with the Icelandic author Sjón.
Eggers urged Sjón to translate the Icelandic script directly into English to give a more authentic Scandinavian sound. Eggers became interested in Scandinavian culture and folklore after a trip to Iceland, which prompted him to also consult with Viking reenactors, martial arts experts from Europe, as well as a variety of nonfiction books detailing Norse culture and folklore in order to achieve a film true to Viking and Norse culture.
Eggers’ most notable film, Nosferatu (2025), served as both a personal grapple for Eggers alongside an artistic one. Eggers admitted to Script magazine that he tried to make the movie for over a decade, but felt guilty for working on a remake instead of producing something fresh and original.
Despite this, his love for the original 1922 silent film and his will to create another “primal narrative” ultimately prevailed, causing him to embark on another research journey on German Romanticism and Transylvanian folklore. Interestingly, one of Eggers’s main priorities during the writing and filming of Nosferatu was ensuring the film had a female protagonist, and that her perspectives and feelings were the big takeaways.
Paired with an incredible cast including Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor Johnson, and Nicholas Hoult, the film has become Eggers’ highest-grossing film to date.
Currently, Eggers is working on his newest project Werwulf: a werewolf horror film set in 13th-century England. He is once again working alongside Sjón, and the film will see the return of Nosferatu stars Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Aaron Taylor Johnson. There is no doubt this project will be just as authentic (or dare I say even more) as his previous films, as Eggers has already dubbed the title in the Old English word for “werewolf”.
According to Dazed, Werwulf’s script is said to be so authentic to 13th-century Old English that the film will provide translations in order for viewers to properly understand the dialogue and the story.
While this will only be his fifth full-length work, Eggers is climbing in the ranks as a rising historical and horror film prodigy. In my opinion, the current horror film scene needs someone able to complement the struggles of a time period with the scariness of his monsters.
Anna Oswald is a Microbiology & Cell Science Major and French Minor, as well as an online writer for Rowdy Magazine.
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