As seen in the just-released trailer for “Nosferatu,” filmmaker Robert Eggers has a very distinct visual style, and it seems to show up again in this latest film. The long elaborate shot structures are present as it the authentic, time-period specific, attention to detail.
Eggers’ obsessions with fairytales, folktales, and mythology will be all over “Nosferatu” stars Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, a woman whose soul is seduced by the vampire (Skarsgård) while her husband Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) fights to save her.
The look of the film is fast becoming just as interesting as the story itself. “Nosferatu” was, technically speaking, shot in color by DP Jarin Blaschke, with a look reminiscent of 19th century Romanticism. In fact, an entirely new filter was engineered just for this film, which is also said to have an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
Eggers used a combination of lenses and filters to get the effect he was going for — he actually asked a glass manufacturing company to assist him in making the unusual filter. The goal was for the film to look like it was shot in black and white while allowing a few colors, especially blue, to come through into the frame.
The film, set to hit theaters on December 25, might be skipping the fall festivals, but is no less one of our most anticipated films of the fall. It’s been test-screened already a few times with many positive notices having come its way.
Eggers’ decade-in-the-making project, produced by Focus Feature, stars Depp, Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The official synopsis for Eggers’ version reads as follows:
Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU is 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" is well-known as the essential and most iconic Vampire in cinema. There hasn't been anything quite like F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent-era classic. While we’re at it, check out Dafoe’s terrific depiction of the bloodsucker in 2000’s “Shadow of the Vampire.”
Eggers’ short filmography only includes “The Witch,” “The Lighthouse,” and “The Northman,” but he’s slowly been building up quite the following.
