With the property becoming the most popular it’s been in over 20 years,Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror’s Doug Jones shares his thoughts on the close release between it and Robert Eggers' upcoming remake. Both movies serve as different interpretations of Henrik Galeen and F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film of the same name, itself an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’sDracula. WhereEggers’Nosferatuis a somewhat reimagined version of the original film in the filmmaker’s unique style,A Symphony of Horroris a shot-for-shot remake utilizing practical sets and CGI to put Jones and the rest of his cast in the original film.
During an interview withScreen Rantto promote the October 18 release of his version, Jones shared his thoughts onNosferatu: A Symphony of Horrorand Eggers' movie releasing within two months of each other. The star, who plays Count Orlok in the shot-for-shot remake and was reflecting on the prior actors who played him,began by acknowledging it to be a “very confusing time"with the two adaptations coming out so closely to one another:
And you’re right, so many beautiful performances, and Willem Dafoe killed it, I think. He was fantastic. And I can’t wait to — Honestly, I know this is a very confusing time, that we’re coming out two months before the Robert Eggers version with Bill Skarsgård in the same role, and I’m a big fan of Bill’s.
Rather than express a sense of competition between them, though,Jones was very enthused at the dual release of theNosferatumovies, expressing his eagerness to get to see Eggers' film and his hope that both movies will inspire audiences to revisit the original silent film. See what Jones said below:
I’m a big fan of Robert Eggers, and I can’t wait to see their movie as well, and I think Bill Skarsgård is going to also kill it. But we all have our own spin on that original tale, and I think the fans out there, hopefully, will want to see all of them and celebrate this tale, this fable of Nosferatu in whatever version comes out. And hopefully there’s audience enough for all of them.
What This Means For The Nosferatu Movies
The Two Are Different Enough To Attract Different Audiences
To Jones' credit, the way Eggers and writer/director David Lee Fisher are approaching theirNosferatumovies is different enough to allow the possibility for different audiences to want to watch them. Where the former is striving for a purely horrific take onthe unofficialDraculaadaptation,Fisher is instead aiming to recapture the German expressionist atmosphereof Murnau’s classic silent film. As with any genre, but in particular that of the horror genre, there is certainly room for both films to succeed.
Nosferatu 100 Years On: 10 Things That Keep Getting Better Over Time
Nosferatu is regarded as one of the best vampire flicks ever made, despite it being a hundred years old. Here’s why the film is so timeless.
Beyond the differences in audiences, there have been a variety of prior examples of movies with similar or the same premises and subjects released within a short amount of time together,known as twin films. Some examples over the years have includedDeep ImpactandArmageddon,VolcanoandDante’s Peak, andDisney’sPinocchioandGuillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Check out some of the most prominent recent examples of twin films in the chart below:
2011
White House Down
2013
Action thrillers about the White House being taken hostage, and one person working to save it.
Bird Box, The Silence, Arcadian, etc.
Various
Post-apocalyptic thrillers about monsters hunting people with one of five senses.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
WYBM (2018); ABDITN (2019)
Movies focused on Mr. Rogers, though Neighbor is a documentary, while Neighborhood is a biopic.
Pinocchio
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Pinocchio: A True Story, Pinocchio and the Water of Life (2023)
2022
Priscilla
Elvis (2022); Priscilla (2023)
Films exploring Elvis' life, albeit the latter focused on Presley’s titular ex-wife.
Reality (2023); Winner (2024)
Biographical dramas about the American whistleblower Reality Winner.
Interestingly, the dual release of theNosferatumovies also continuesa recent trend of multipleDraculaadaptations being released either in the same year, or within a year of each other. In 2023, boththe Nicolas Cage-starring horror-comedyRenfieldand horror movieThe Last Voyage of the Demeterhit theaters to generally mixed responses from critics and bombing at the box office, all while Eggers’Nosferatuwas in the works, as well as Luc Besson’sDracula: A Love Taleand Chloé Zhao’s sci-fi Western take.
Our Take On The Multiple Nosferatu Movies
It’s A Great Time To Be A Sort Of Dracula Fan
As a general fan of the vampire subgenre, and Bram Stoker’s iconic character, I couldn’t be more thrilled to have two differentNosferatumovies coming out within the same year. Though a classic in the eyes of critics, the original silent film is far too underappreciated by modern audiences, so to have different filmmakers reviving it for today is a real treat that I hope draws people to visiting Murnau’s original.
Nosferatu
Cast
Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name from director F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers is crafting his own version of the story for the reboot as writer and director, with Bill Skarsgård stepping into the shoes of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the tale of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire utterly infatuated with her.
