Nosferatu's Willem Dafoe says Robert Eggers' movie is so different from Shadow of the Vampire, he didn't connect the two
Jan. 2, 2024Exclusive: The actor gushes to Total Film about how “beautiful” the new horror thriller is
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Nosferatu isn’t anything like his last bloodsucker movie, Shadow of the Vampire, says Willem Dafoe – despite them both centering on the titular creature of the night.
In the new issue ofTotal Film, which is out this Thursday and features Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire on the cover, the actor admitted that he never really made the connection between the 2000 mystery film and the new Robert Eggers' outing as their aesthetics and “intention” are “very different.”
“I think Robert and [cinematographer] Jarin [Blaschke] were in a very good place, and he’s getting more and more refined,” Dafoe, who has previously collaborated with Eggers onThe LighthouseandThe Northman, added. “It’s a bigger scale – maybe not quite as big as The Northman, but he was very on top of it. I just saw some pieces, and I didn’t get a sense of the film itself, but it was just beautifully photographed. I can’t think of another film that quite looks like it.”
Directed by E. Elias Merhige, Shadow of the Vampire takes a fictional look behind the scenes of the filming of F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu back in the early 1920s. Dafoe plays Max Schreck, the actor bringing the monstrous Count Orlok to life, while John Malkovich portrays the filmmaker. Though there’s more to Schreck than first appears…
Dafoe’s work in the movie went on to earn him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, while the film itself received another nod for Best Makeup. Udo Kier, Eddie Izzard, John Aden Gillett, and Cary Elwes rounded out the supporting cast.
Inspired by the aforementioned silent film of the same name, Eggers' Nosferatu will explore the obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, which leads to all sorts of untold terrors. Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Simon McBurney star alongside Dafoe, as does Eggers' fellow frequent collaborator Ralph Ineson (The Witch).
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Jane Crowther is a contributing editor to Total Film magazine, having formerly been the longtime Editor, as well as serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Film Group here at Future Plc, which covers Total Film, SFX, and numerous TV and women’s interest brands. Jane is also the vice-chair of The Critics' Circle and a BAFTA member. You’ll find Jane on GamesRadar+ exploring the biggest movies in the world and living up to her reputation as one of the most authoritative voices on film in the industry.
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