You’d suppose that when individuals discuss vampires in new and upcoming horror films like Ryan Coogler’s 2025 film launch Sinners, the main target could be on story-specific lore, potential victims, and/or the logic of deterents like garlic. However for Robert Eggers’ long-gestating Nosferatu, the thrill on-line shortly turned all about Depend Orlok’s facial hair, particularly his overbearing mustache. The director has certainly seen the complaints, and after giving them some thought, he fired again with a passionate, colourful response.
In a brand new interview with Empire, Eggers lastly addressed the thrill over Depend Orlok’s intense design and his now-infamous mustache, which debuted within the director’s daring, atmospheric reimagining of the 1922 traditional. The filmmaker, recognized for his meticulous element and unapologetic artistic choices, didn’t mince phrases when addressing the choice to incorporate the character’s blood broom:
I get that. It’s a tough capsule for some individuals to swallow. However I additionally don’t care, as a result of there’s simply no fucking manner that this man wouldn’t have a moustache. I really like the best way Max Schreck appears to be like too [in Murnau’s original], and it’s a change. So, honest play, as individuals say over right here.
There you have got it. There was apparently by no means a model of the story by which the notorious bloodsucker did not have a muzzle rug. Eggers makes a compelling sufficient case; as everyone knows, the director could be very specific about historic accuracy. To his level, loads of individuals rocked extremely unlucky facial hair in centuries previous, because it was a part of the period.
In his 2024 reimagining of the fabric, Depend Orlok is portrayed not merely as a sinister, rat-toothed determine from the Expressionist period, however because the reanimated corpse of a Transylvanian nobleman. This embodiment renders the character’s facial hair much less of a unusual fashionable replace and extra of a historic element. It’s not concerning the self-importance behind being distinctive for the sake of it; it’s about authenticity for the interval, which feels so Eggers to me.
The filmmaker is understood for his signature moody and atmospheric lens, and he’s no stranger to ruffling feathers. He’s constructed a profession on immersive, traditionally grounded horror, from the puritanical dread of The Witch to the myth-soaked mania of The Lighthouse. His work usually blends authenticity with invention, and the Orlok’s ‘stache appears to fall squarely in that custom.
The backlash kicked off nearly proper after the primary stills of Invoice Skarsgård’s Orlok hit the web. Whereas many horror followers cherished the creepy silhouette and the cool nod to the unique, some couldn’t get previous the mustache. I get it; after I first noticed it, the lip lettuce positively stood out. However by the point I reached the ultimate intense moments of the film, I had been received over by Invoice Skarsgård’s terrifying efficiency (which even scared his Nosferatu costars), and I forgot all concerning the Depend’s flavor-saver.
In the event you’re a purist clinging to Max Schreck’s noseless grimace and baby-smooth face, this model, together with his handlebar mouth curtains, would possibly really feel like a pointy flip. However if you happen to’re able to embrace a Dracula who brings slightly extra historic aptitude, then Eggers has a blood-slicked, bristly deal with ready for you.
Finally, it’s a mustache with that means, and I feel that’s one thing all of us horror hounds ought to embrace. Nosferatu is now out there on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital, or streaming with a Peacock subscription.