Robert Eggers’ kind of film rarely lands him a bulky paycheck from Hollywood. The director is just three movies old and all of his films are rooted in historical folklore. Eggers is currently working with an ensemble cast of youngsters for his fourth film, Nosferatu. His fame began with the 2016 horror film, The Witch, which marked the debut of Anya Taylor-Joy in Hollywood. However, Eggers is not a big fan of his first film.
Eggers did not blame Taylor-Joy or the other performances in the film, but revealed that he couldn’t bring his vision for the film onto the screen. He further revealed that it was only in his third film, The Northman, that he grasped the art of making the film he wanted to do.
Robert Eggers Can’t Stand Watching The Witch Now
Robert Eggers made waves in the horror genre with his art-house film The Witch in 2016. Anya Taylor-Joy played the lead role of Thomasin in the film, set in 1630s New England. The film premiered at the Sundance Festival in January 2015 and was released worldwide by A24 in February 2016. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $40 million against a $4 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).
The director followed up the critical success of the film with another art-house film The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. He also went on to direct the historical revenge drama The Northman. However, Eggers revealed that he couldn’t stand the film that established him as one of the unique directors in Hollywood.
During an interview with The Guardian, Eggers shared that he was not a big fan of his breakthrough film. Despite the incredible performances from the cast including Taylor-Joy, there were several points of improvement and he stated he wasn’t skilled enough to do the film that he had in his brain. Eggers shared with The Guardian:
“Honestly, I can’t stand watching The Witch now. It’s not that it’s bad, and the performances are great, but I was not skilled enough as a filmmaker to get what was in my brain on to the screen.”
According to sites like Collider and CBR, The Witch is considered one of the best horror films of the 2010s. The film also has a Tomatometer score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the director has far better views about his other two films.
Robert Eggers Was Proud Of The Northman, But He Has Yet To Make The Movie Of His Dreams
Robert Eggers also told The Guardian that he was able to achieve something close to what he had imagined in his next film after The Witch, The Lighthouse. The Robert Pattinson film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 92nd Academy Awards. He further revealed that he was proud of his historical drama film The Northman.
The director also revealed that his three films haven’t achieved what he had dreamed of making. He added that he hopes to make something of the scope and scale that could actually bring his vision to the screen. Eggers shared:
“In The Lighthouse, I was able to do that. And The Northman, I’m proud of the movie, but not everything is quite what I hoped it would be. So I would like to do something with the scope and scale that I can actually get what’s in my imagination on to the screen.”
Robert Eggers may be able to achieve just that with his next film, Nosferatu. Eggers claims that the film will bring back one horror sub-genre that has been dying in Hollywood. The film has a promising cast of youngsters, including Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
The Witch is available for streaming on Max. The Lighthouse is available on Showtime, while The Northman is available on Starz. Nosferatu will be released in theaters on December 25, 2024, on Christmas.
