Robert Eggers' highly-anticipated remake of classic vampire tale, Nosferatu, came very close to being shelved, but despite some major setbacks, the filmmaker forged ahead with his vision for the movie, and the first official still has now been released online via Empire Magazine.
The image spotlights Lilly-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, the wife of Nicholas Hoult’s estate agent Thomas, who has fallen under the spell of the titular vampire Count Orlok, played by Pennywise actor Bill Skarsgård.
“I’ll say that Bill has so transformed, I’m fearful that he might not get the credit that he deserves because he’s just… he’s not there,” Eggers tells the site.
Only the shadow of Orlock's hand appears in the still, but Eggers did give us some idea of what this new take on the bloodthirsty Count will look like.
“He felt like honouring who had come before him. It’s all very subtle. But I think the main thing is that he’s even more a folk vampire. In my opinion he looks like a dead Transylvanian nobleman, and in a way that we’ve never actually seen what an actual dead Transylvanian nobleman would look like and be dressed like.”
Eggers also made it very clear that Nosferatu will be a full-on horror movie (there were rumors that he planned to take the story in a more romantic/dramatic direction).
“Yeah, it’s a scary film. It’s a horror movie. It’s a Gothic horror movie,” he assures. “And I do think that there hasn’t been an old-school Gothic movie that’s actually scary in a while. And I think that the majority of audiences will find this one to be the case.”
Check out the image at the link below, and let us know what you think in the comments section.
F.W. Murnau directed the original 1922 classic, while Werner Herzog helmed a rather bizarre 1979 remake. The story is loosely based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, but there are several key differences.
"Nosferatu tells a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him."
Nosferatu hasn't been given an exact release date, but should be with us at some point next year.