With every new film that Robert Eggers makes, the expectations of many genre enthusiasts increase. The horror classic Nosferatu (2024) turned out to be well spent on the director and now he is again working on a genre film full of historical and mythological influences.
Transformation
Werwulf (2026) is about a thirteenth-century farmer who is cursed and desperately searches for a way to escape his fate. The title of the film reveals in capital letters which direction things are going for the main character, and so the tension will mainly lie in the atmosphere: the decor, the music and the weight of impending doom (exactly as in Nosferatu).
Empathy
The first image of the newcomer shows Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Friedrich Harding in Eggers’ previous film) with his animals and a protective spear as he treks through a dark forest. In conversation with Esquire the maker tells us that the actor’s performance is guaranteed to grab you by the throat: “especially how he behaves when he physically changes is extreme,” says Eggers. “He really brings tremendous emotional intensity to the role.”
Still ‘Werwulf’ via Esquire
Tail cliches
Werwulf will be a reunion with the stars of Nosferatubecause in addition to Taylor-Johnson we also see Lily-Rose Depp (as the farmer’s wife) and Willem Dafoe as a hunter. Eggers indicates that he has done his best to ensure that his film does not follow the clichés of the werewolf genre. The creator actually delved into the werewolf mythology of the so-called ‘Dark’ Middle Ages and also deliberately adopted elements from Viking culture, because it probably inspired the idea of the ‘wolf man’.
Begin 2027 shall Werwulf appear in Dutch theaters.
Beeld: Still ‘Nosferatu’ via TMDb
