Interview: Discussing the Long Road to Making ‘Nosferatu’ with Filmmaker Robert Eggers

Robert Eggers has quickly become a filmmaker with a strong following. Between The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman, Eggers does things his way, not making it easy on himself, but treating dedicated fans to something unique each time out. With Nosferatu, he’s tackled classical material and still made it his own. In many ways, it’s his best film yet. Recently, I spoke to Eggers about it, catching him a few days before everyone in the industry went on holiday break. Today, with the movie at long last in theaters, our conversation comes your way. Previously, I spoke with Willem Dafoe here and Lily-Rose Depp here about the work. Now, the maestro himself chimes in.

In my review of the film (here), I had this to say about Eggers’ writing and directing:

Filmmaker Robert Eggers puts it all on the screen here, and while it’s narratively perhaps his most straightforward work, no one will mistake this for a garden variety horror film. The stark cinematography from Jarin Blaschke, the ominous score from Robin Carolan, it all combines with terrific period production design to make it darkly hypnotic. The pacing is slow, so Eggers’ script isn’t always giving you quite as much to ponder as his direction, but there’s never a moment where you don’t think you’re in the hands of a storyteller executing his vision. Regardless of whether Nosferatu succeeds for you or not, it’s impossible to deny the craftsmanship on display. Between that and the acting, it’s easy to appreciate what’s on display.

Below, you can hear my discussion with Eggers. I was curious about both why it was time to give Nosferatu another go after his first crack at it years back never came together, as well as the satisfaction he must feel in having this be such a success. He’s very modest and has a good sense of humor about himself, which makes for a lighter conversation than you might expect. Nosferatu is finally here, so succumb to the darkness and give it a look…

Here now is my interview with Nosferatu filmmaker Robert Eggers. Enjoy:

Nosferatu is in theaters now!