Nosferatu director Robert Eggers reveals which horror classics inspired the movie

Robert Eggers says his 'Nosferatu' remake is inspired by gothic horror classic ‘The Innocents’.

The 41-year-old director has helmed the remake of 'Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror', F. W. Murnau's silent German Expressionist vampire film, but the 1922 movie is not the only inspiration for his latest horror.

Eggers also was influenced by Jack Clayton’s 1961 picture ‘The Innocents’, which is based on 1898 novella 'The Turn of the Screw' by the American novelist Henry James and focuses on a governess who watches over two children and comes to fear that their large estate is haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.

During an appearance on Alamo Drafthouse’s YouTube series ‘Guest Selects’, the filmmaker said: “I think it is one of the best - perhaps the best - gothic ghost movie ever made.


“I watch it a couple times a year probably for inspiration. Freddy Francis was the cinematographer, who directed many Hammer horror films, but his finest collaborations are with Jack Clayton. And what he does with the camera was very inspiring to what my cinematographer and I were up to with ‘Nosferatu’.”

‘The Lighthouse’ director added that Thorold Dickinson’s 1949 film ‘The Queen of Spades’ was another horror flick he drew inspiration from, and said he was trying to recapture the movie’s “fluidity and precision of the camera work” in ‘Nosferatu’.

He explained: “‘The Queen of Spades’ by Thorold Dickinson is another really fine gothic horror movie.

“The fluidity and precision of the camera work and compositions was something we were trying to emulate.”

Eggers added he was also inspired by The Queen of Spades’ practical snowflake effects - which was achieved through potato powder - to utilise a similar technique for wintery scenes in ‘Nosferatu’ instead of relying on CGI.

He said: “And the atmosphere of the film is also incredibly effective. The snowy Russian streets is a sort of look and vibe we tried to create later in [‘Nosferatu’], particularly the potato snowflake snowfall is very beautiful and we use the same kind of practical snow.”

‘The Witch’ creator also credited Ingmar Bergman’s 1972 drama ‘Cries and Whispers’ as another big inspiration for ‘Nosferatu’, and said it was the picture’s “ghostly atmosphere” and intense performances that he wanted to channel for his movie.

He shared: “‘Cries and Whispers’ by Ingmar Bergman is perhaps my favourite Bergman film. It’s also one of the best horror films ever made even though it certainly doesn’t try to be one, and wouldn’t be classified as one.

“But there is something about the ghostly atmosphere of that film and the performances … when I saw it in my early 20’s, it always stuck with me.

“And I’m constantly thinking about ‘Cries and Whispers’ when I’m directing the performances [on ‘Nosferatu’].”

‘Nosferatu’ - which stars Bill Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult and Emma Corrin - tells the terrifying tale of a young woman who finds herself the target of the ancient Transylvanian vampire Count Orlok after the creature becomes infatuated by her.