Robert Eggers began his creative journey as a production designer in music industry before transitioning successfully to a critically acclaimed film director. His directional career began when he chose horror and mythological themes to produce his films. His latest directorial undertaking is Nosferatu building off Eggers' previous work with high audience anticipation.
Nosferatu Builds Upon Director Robert Eggers Consistent Critical Success Across All His Directed Films
Nosferatu director Robert Eggers his fourth film has received strong positive feedback among a Christmas release and consistent Rotten Tomatoes "Certified Fresh" ratings. His previous directorial works have consistently obtained the “full popcorn bucket” highlighting the broad approval ratings which demonstrates positive viewer experience of over 60% satisfaction among those surveyed . Robert Eggers after completing production for his fourth film has plans to move forward with new work building off of Nosferatu’s impressive initial success.
Eggers Debut Film “The Witch” a Financial Success Starring Anya Taylor-Joy
The Witch released by director Robert Eggers in 2015 achieved great praise from critics and viewers earning 40 million in box office from only 4 million spent on budget and was initially presented during the Sundance Film Festival where the project originally premiered with highly positive reactions. Anya Taylor-Joy played the starring role in “The Witch” with high acclaim for the role and continues to play influential lead characters in many Hollywood productions. The movie holds a Certified Fresh score with a 91% rating by critics while viewers rated it positively at 60% as an overall viewing experience.
Eggers' “The Lighthouse” Psychological Thriller Starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe
Robert Eggers' second directing undertaking was 2019 film “The Lighthouse” this psychological period thriller starred Robert Pattinson plus Willem Dafoe that received mostly positive praise though it did not bring significant financial profit as compared to The Witch production. The Lighthouse garnered 18 million dollars despite having an 11 million budget receiving great praise from movie critics. Movie critics scored “The Lighthouse” very high with a “Certified Fresh” score of 90% along with the audience awarding 72% approval.
The Northman Receives Positive Reviews But Box Office Sales Fall Below Expectations
The Northman a movie directed by Robert Eggers in 2022 despite positive audience reviews had the lowest performance yet from the director grossing a disappointing 69.9 million while having an expensive production budget between 70 million and 90 million. Alexander Skarsgård and Anya Taylor-Joy starred as leading performers with 90% rating from movie critics and 64% rating from viewers demonstrating some slight audience approval. Despite this, the movie still attained the director's third Certified Fresh score indicating that Eggers does still get credit for quality cinema productions during his career.
Nosferatu Earns High Scores from Critics and Audiences as Eggers Reinterprets a Horror Classic
Nosferatu a gothic horror directed by Robert Eggers earned a Certified Fresh 87% score with critics and an impressive 76% score from viewers demonstrating consistent viewer approval with audiences rating this his highest success among the director’s entire filmography. The director wanted to show the movie viewers a different take on the movie by making Count Orlok a much more gross character with a more direct emphasis on the undead and horrific nature of vampire as a supernatural being. Robert Eggers created Nosferatu as his version of a remake and his fourth foray into filmmaking within this genre further cementing his signature style and taste as a movie producer.
Director Eggers Reimagines Vampire Tropes With Focus on Grotesque Nature of Count Orlok
Robert Eggers who directed the 2024 movie Nosferatu wanted to show Count Orlok’s true form with an emphasis on making his appearance much more gross looking undead character that was originally meant to be according to historic traditions. Bill Skarsgård who had prior work in Eggers’ production “The Northman” played the part with great performance while the director noted that “Bill’s vampire was sexy” yet specified it must be “opposite of that”. Director Robert Eggers spoke in previous interviews with his strong opinions stating Orlok drains blood directly from the human heart in contrast with Edward Cullen’s vampire version in other movie. The character Edward Cullen is widely known to be the basis for the popular vampire genre.
The director stated “We’ve gone all the way to Edward Cullen where vampires are not scary” also adding a call to the past using the idea of when “people used to dig up corpses and chop them to pieces and burn them." Robert Eggers wanted to depict a very "scary smelly corpse again" for the present age instead of the overly glamourized interpretations that exist today in modern cinema. He also wanted a return to the traditional themes that brought the horror of monsters to all that would look on and see the grotesque horror and the nature of the dark. Nosferatu has an active theatre run giving the director an opportunity to reach many audience members before future home video or streaming options become available.