PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   During CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week, a gathering of cinema proprietors and press members viewed a preview of Robert Eggers’ upcoming film, Werewulf. The movie’s logline reads, “In 13th-century England, a mysterious creature stalks a foggy countryside as local folklore becomes a terrifying reality for the villagers.” Although the teaser hasn’t hit the internet yet, Variety attended the event and provided a description of the clip:

“The preview recalled Eggers’ previous works, featuring numerous black-and-white images of mutilated bodies, violated graves, and terrified villagers plagued by an unseen predator. Taylor-Johnson appears nude, convulsing as he shifts into the werewolf, with saliva dripping from his fangs, though his complete monstrous form was not revealed.”

Since Werewulf isn’t scheduled to arrive until Christmas, fans of the macabre face many months of waiting under dark umbrellas in the summer sun before they can enjoy another of Eggers’ precisely constructed historical horror tales. However, listen! A cold breeze blows across the moors. It is Eggers’ 2024 interpretation of Nosferatu, arriving to envelop gloomy film lovers in its frosty grip.

Regarding Gothic romance, Eggers’ Nosferatu stands as one of the bleakest films Hollywood has produced lately, directly connecting mortality with lust in a $50 million, feature-length enactment of the French expression la petite mort. Naturally, the film also pulls from F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which was derived from Bram Stoker’s legendary 1897 vampire novel Dracula. (Though Stoker’s widow successfully sued Murnau for copyright infringement, asserting it was more than just an inspiration.)

Eggers’ adaptation draws from these various sources, placing Nosferatu in 19th-century Germany around 1838 and decorating it with meticulously built miniatures and ominous shadows reminiscent of expressionist silent cinema. The film’s foundational plot—centering on newlyweds Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) and the beast that intrudes on their lives when Thomas travels to Transylvania for work—is lifted from Stoker’s book, yet the final trajectory of this dark narrative of devotion is entirely unique.

Consistent with Eggers’ filmography, the set design, wardrobe, and camera work are rigorously authentic to the time period. Eggers utilizes specific lenses to film the movie’s gloomy, brooding characters and ailing maidens illuminated by fire and candlelight. The introduction of Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlock is a stunning moment, brimming with threat and suspense; Orlock is a frightening presence, a gasping, dusty walking cadaver whose booming voice and fur garments hide a shockingly gaunt physique.

Despite this, Skarsgård’s Orlock has generated numerous “thirst traps” and fan-made videos, not merely because online fandom encourages fans to act wildly. While lacking the charm of his more renowned peer, Count Dracula, Count Orlock similarly symbolizes unavoidable, overwhelming passion—a love that endures beyond death. That is one way to view it, at least. Nosferatu can also be interpreted as an allegory for depression and broader mental health issues: dismal companions that accompany us from youth until our end. There is an odd solace in witnessing such darkness depicted on screen, even in a film as grim as this. In the shadows, at least, we have company.

Nosferatu is currently available for streaming on Peacock.