After Rewatching 2024's Nosferatu, I Am SO Ready For Robert Eggers' Werwulf

Can I just say that I’m a MASSIVE fan of Robert Eggers? I’ve seen every movie he’s done, and I’m still - even to this day - upset that The Lighthouse wasn’t nominated for Best Picture.

However, it’s Eggers’ last effort, 2024’s Nosferatu, that has me pumped for his next movie, Werwolf, which is slated to come out THIS year (And on Christmas day, no less).

Well, after rewatching Nosferatu the other day, I have to tell you, I am SO ready for Werwulf. Here are just a few reasons why.

If Eggers Can Do For Werewolves What He Did For Vampires, Then This Could Be The Best Werewolf Movie Of All Time

I’m going to let you in on a little secret - I honestly don’t think there’s ever been a werewolf movie or TV show that’s been better than the best vampire movies or TV shows. And, it’s not like I think there haven’t been any good werewolf stories. I mean, I’m one of the few people who actually adores the 2010 Wolfman movie. Plus, like a lot of people, I love the original The Wolf Man from 1941.

But, while I’ll of course go to bat for a movie like 1981’s, An American Werewolf in London, I don’t think any werewolf movie that I just mentioned is better than say, Interview with the Vampire, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, or even the most recent Sinners, which I don’t even consider “a vampire movie,” per se, but rather, a movie that features vampires (Though, I do consider it one of the best movies ever made).

That said, after rewatching Nosferatu and seeing what Eggers can do with vampires, I have a new hope for what he can do with werewolves, because his version of Nosferatu is honestly one of the best vampire movies I’ve ever seen, full stop. For one thing, Nosferatu is actually scary! Bill Skarsgard is perfect as Count Orlok, and Eggers’ rendition of Nosferatu doesn't just feel like an alternate version of Dracula, but rather, like its own haunting tale.

Vampires are treated like a real, existential threat to the populace, and if Eggers can bring that same tension to the werewolf mythos that he did for Nosferatu and vampires, then we werewolf fans are in for a REAL treat come Christmas. Especially if he knocks it out of the park with the setting again. Speaking of which…

Eggers Can Do Moody Period Pieces Like No Other

Robert Eggers has made four movies thus far, and they’ve all been period pieces. I first fell in love with his work with 2015’s The Witch, where he tackled 1630 New England. Then came The Lighthouse, which took place on a New England Island in the 1890s. The Northman (another masterpiece that probably should have been up for Best Picture) goes the farthest back to AD 895, and then you have Nosferatu, which takes it to 1838 in Transylvania.

The point I’m trying to make here is that Robert Eggers lives and breathes the past, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do in 13th-century England, which is where and when Werwulf takes place. Because the thing about Eggers is that he REALLY makes his settings feel lived in, and…dirty. That may not sound like a plus, but it certainly is, since he presents unvarnished worlds that are probably as realistic as possible, because I definitely wouldn’t want to live in any of them.

Not only that, but I feel dirty even after watching his movies, which is definitely a plus since it’s difficult for me to feel anything when watching movies. So, I like the general feeling that I need to take a shower after watching something like The Northman, or Nosferatu (Especially when it concerns a city that is filled with RATS!)

I want, nay, I CRAVE that for Werwulf. I want to feel like I have dirt clinging to my face, and can touch the matted fur of some lupine horror creeping around the corner, and I feel like Robert Eggers can truly take us there!

Plus, I Just Gotta See What Eggers Is Going To Have Willem Dafoe Do This Time Around

What do Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, and Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan all have in common? Give up? Well, they’re all directors and actors who have almost become synonymous with each other. Even though you might not be keeping track, I think Robert Eggers and Willem Dafoe have a similar partnership.

Though Dafoe didn’t appear in Eggers’ debut picture, The Witch, he’s since appeared in every movie Eggers has done since then, with some roles being major and some being minor. Like, take his performance in The Lighthouse, which I quote probably on a daily basis (“Why’d ya spill yer beans, Tommy?”). Between his farting, grand speeches, and overall manic tendencies, Dafoe is a character for the ages in this movie.

In The Northman, he plays Heimer the Fool, which is a haunting and spooky performance (especially when he’s just a head!). And Nosferatu might be Dafoe’s most out-there performance yet in an Eggers’ film (Which is saying something, given his role in The Lighthouse). Dafoe plays a crazed vampire hunter, and he truly makes the movie for me in a lot of ways (Plus, it’s not lost on me that he actually played a version of Nosferatu himself in Shadow of the Vampire).

So, it does my heart glad to see that Dafoe is returning in Werwulf. I’m not sure what his role will be just yet, but it doesn’t matter. Eggers + Dafoe = Fantastic!

I Also Love That Lily-Rose Depp Is In This One, Too

Was Bill Skarsgard the main attraction of Nosferatu? I think most would say yes. And, while his performance was noteworthy and creepy in the way that only Bill Skarsgard can be, I think the true showstealer was Lily-Rose Depp, who played a tormented woman mentally (and physically) linked to Count Orlok.

Yes, I know she’s based on the Mina character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but Lily-Rose Depp OWNS this role, as she often looks like her soul is leaving her body when she goes into one of her trances and is spiritually invaded by Count Orlok, who wants her all to himself.

For me (and I’m sure for many), this was the first time I really took notice of Lily-Rose Depp, but now, I want her in everything! She has the ability to be both demure and explosive with her performance, as exemplified by her role as Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu.

I’m not sure what role she plays in Werwulf, but I’m dying to see what else she can do. I’m now a fan!

Honestly, Eggers Can Do No Wrong In My Eyes, And I Love Werewolves Way More Than Vampires

Earlier, I said that there’s never been a werewolf movie or TV show that’s been better than the best vampire movie or TV show, and that pains me since I MUCH prefer werewolves over vampires.

I just love everything about lycanthropy. Vampires are cursed, but werewolves are tortured. They are pure id, and they often chain themselves up to their bedsides since they don’t want to unleash their savagery upon the world.

I love that side of werewolves, and I still don’t think a movie or TV show has truly captured that like the best vampire stories have captured the plight of immortality. I think if anybody can do it, it’s Robert Eggers, especially after rewatching Nosferatu. Seriously, Christmas can’t get here soon enough!