Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’ Enters the Oscar Race, Fangs and All

Robert Eggers puts another woman (Lily-Rose Depp) under assault in his sexy and frightening take on “Nosferatu.” The “Northman” and “The Witch” director first saw F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent vampire film when he was nine years old on a scratchy old VHS tape off a 16mm print, as he told moderator Guillermo del Toro at a DGA screening packed with Academy members and critics on Thursday night. Directors John Landis, Richard Kelly, and J.C. Chandor were among the attendees chatting up Eggers afterward.

“It had a magical quality,” said Eggers of the tape. “It stayed with me.” He went on to play Count Orlok in his own high school play of “Nosferatu,” and his background as a stage and production designer before becoming a feature director is on full display here.

Focus Features is releasing the gothic horror film wide as Christmas counterprogramming on December 25, which explains why “Nosferatu” was not presented at festivals, where it would have been well-received by critics. (Early reactions are here.) Clearly, the distributor’s first order of business is to rustle up some box office before it hits PVOD, usually three weeks later, but Focus’ own “Conclave” and other robust performers can extend that window.

Guillermo del Toro and Robert Eggers seen at a screening of Focus Features’ ‘Nosferatu’Focus Features via Getty Images

So what are the Oscar prospects? As always, critics could elevate this artful, smart horror movie that is a delirious fantastical ride into a gorgeous authentic European past, complete with Transylvanian consultants, period mustaches, costumes and corsets, and Jane Austen-flavored 19th-century dialogue. The cast chews up the scenery (Depp does her own “Exorcist”-level stunts) and delivers a few laughs, too, including Willem Dafoe as an expert in the occult, who delivers the line, “I’ve seen things that would make Isaac Newton crawl back into his mother’s womb.”

As many times as “Nosferatu’s” original source material, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” has been adapted to the screen, Eggers keeps it fresh (the vampires suck blood from the chest, not the neck) and exciting to watch. Not everyone will appreciate the film’s tongue-in-cheek tone, or the way he turns most of the men (Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson) into less-than-stalwart opposition to Bill Skarsgård’s powerful and strangely seductive Transylvanian Count Orlok, who rises from the grave to pursue Ellen Hutter (Depp). Eggers thanked producer Chris Columbus for keeping the narrative on track. It moves like the wind.

‘Nosferatu’Courtesy of Focus Features

While Oscar acting nominations are unlikely in this competitive year for a genre film (the reason why “The Substance” may settle for Original Screenplay), expect nominations for at least three of Eggers’ long-time collaborators: ASC- and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (“The Lighthouse”) and never-nominated Craig Lathrop (Production Design) and Linda Muir (Costume Design). Hair and Makeup is another strong possibility. If the critics rave and the film does well at the box office, it could go further still.

The question of genre acceptance is key. “Nosferatu” is a horror film, even if it’s smart and period and elevated. Horror precedents for Oscar nominations beyond the crafts include just six Best Picture nominees: William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist,” Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws,” M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense,” Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan,” and Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.” Only Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs” took home the prize.

Super-violent “The Witch” and “The Northman” didn’t overcome the genre barrier. But “Nosferatu” might.