Don’t Expect Nosferatu’s Robert Eggers to Get Contemporary Any Time Soon

The knack Robert Eggers has for exploring how our past has informed our present through his richly dense horror films is going to be studied for generations to come. The filmmaker goes through painstakingly detailed research from language to lore and period-specific costuming in order to bring his films such as The Lighthouse, The Witch, The Northman, and most recently Nosferatu to life. For one thing, we agree with Eggers that an immortal Transylvanian Lord would have such an epic ‘stache.

Fans of the filmmaker may be fretting that by signing on to The Labyrinth sequel, he’ll be jumping forward in time with the modern day wrap bookend from the original Jim Henson film, but that seems unlikely based on what Eggers recently told Rotten Tomatoes. The truth is, he’s very glad to tell stories set in the past.

“The idea of having to photograph a car makes me ill. And the idea of photographing a cell phone is just death,” he said in regards to his future projects, which include a werewolf film that won’t take place in the modern day like the just-released Wolf Man.

He continued. “To make a contemporary story, you have to photograph a cell phone. Its just how life is. So, no, [I won’t be making any modern-set films].”

However, he added that he’s willing to go slightly more contemporary than he has before (his latest-set film to date is The Lighthouse, which takes place in the 1890s). “I might go potentially to 1950, but before World War Il is more inviting for my imagination,” he said. And to be honest, that’s a relief cause there’s no one doing it like he is. But if cell phones are the deal breaker, does that mean venturing far into an apocalyptic future with a ravaged civilization might not be out of the question?

Nosferatu is in theaters now and available to watch on digital with a home release slated for February 18.

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