Nosferatu, now playing in cinemas, is a big hit, earning high praise from both critics and fans. Robert Eggers has always been a highly acclaimed director in the horror genre, with The Witch and The Lighthouse under his belt. He’s always championed the historical importance of this type of storytelling in film and is a huge fan of classic tales. Nosferatu was a project he’d always dreamed of making, but it seems Frankenstein crossed his mind at some point too. The problem was that, for him, doing a remake of that story just didn’t feel quite right.
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“When my son was born, I had an unconscious urge, I’m sure because of that, but as I started writing, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is why,’ but as I started to try to do Frankenstein, which after two weeks, I was like, ‘There’s no way I can do this, it’s impossible’,” he shared in an interview with Conversations at Curzon. The director also mentioned that he is excited about Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation, especially since the story is officially being remade and is expected to be released later this year. When asked if there was already a clear approach to his own idea, Eggers declined to comment, simply stating that the attempt “definitely sucked.”
Mary Shelley’s classic novel has been adapted countless times, but it’s intriguing to imagine what could unfold on screen if the story were told from Eggers’ point of view. It’s almost certain that his perspective would bring a more electrifying and tense tone to the narrative. In Del Toro’s hands, the approach might take on a more dramatic direction, given the filmmaker’s renowned ability to portray monsters with a deep sense of sensitivity and humanity.
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In the interview, Eggers also took the chance to reflect on projects that may have been left behind and whether he felt inclined to revisit them. “That medieval movie I started working on, I read it on a plane a few months ago, and it’s definitely worth revisiting,” he shared. Last year, the director announced that the script for The Knight had been completed, but no updates have surfaced since. “But it also feels a little juvenile because of, you know, the stage I was in my career. But I think it could be good at some point,” he added.
It’s worth noting that Nosferatu took nearly a decade to come to life. In a 2016 interview with IndieWire, Eggers revealed that he had considered diving into the project right after The Witch in 2015. However, it seems the script still needed some refining, as Eggers wanted this new movie to surpass anything he had done before.
In the end, it doesn’t feel like we’ve truly missed out on a great Frankenstein movie. There’s still hope for a strong Hollywood adaptation in the hands of Del Toro. However, Eggers has hinted that he already sensed this story wasn’t his to tell. “Sometimes you know you’ve got a dud,” he admitted, emphasizing that sometimes, it’s just simply not meant to be.
Nosferatu is now in theaters.
