The first trailer for Robert Eggers' Nosferatu reimagining was released in June 2024, but only when audiences are sitting down to watch the new horror film will they get their first glimpse of the titular vampire. Throughout the promotional material, Bill Skarsgård has been hiding in the shadows, literally, and Eggers is clear that this was all intentional.
“Focus Features and Universal were also on the same page as me,” The Witch director tells GamesRadar+. “Basically, we have a new look for the vampire and you want to get people excited and you want that to create tension. It's even like that in the movie, Orlok tries to stay in the shadows because he doesn't want his house.” guest know that you have been invited to the living corpse castle. “You probably want to keep it a secret.”
Eggers is also hopeful that the look will remain a secret to all moviegoers, which is an especially hot topic right now with heated debates about taking pictures in theaters on social media. “I mean, I think it's respectful of the film and the filmmakers,” he responds when we ask if he expects Nosferatu to remain offline, “Absolutely.”
As the director hints, while the plot of Nosferatu follows the original silent film quite closely, Count Orlok's appearance is very different in this version. And Eggers has been open about his hopes to present a different type of vampire than seen in pop culture, taking the monster back to his folklore roots.
This does not mean, adds the director of The Lighthouse, that there is no room for both. “I don't necessarily need to change vampires for the vampire story, and there's room for Edward Cullen and there's room for Blade and there's room for all these different types of vampires,” he adds. “But it's nice to see, for me personally, a vampire who is a folk vampire and a Dracula who seems to have been a Lord of Transylvania.”
In addition to Skarsgård as the titular undead vampire, Nosferatu also stars Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin. The horror film begins with Hoult's young real estate agent sent to meet a mysterious Count in Transylvania who harbors a dark and secret obsession.
Nosferatu opens in US cinemas on Christmas Day and in UK cinemas on New Year's Day. You can read our review of Nosferatu here. For more scares, check out our guides to upcoming horror movies and the best horror movies of all time.