Every Robert Eggers Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Nosferatu)

Robert Eggers’ latest movie Nosferatu has taken critics and audiences by storm, and stands as another testament to how the American auteur has firmly established himself as one of the industry’s top filmmakers. Each of Eggers’ four films demonstrates his singular ability to create striking visuals and tell unique stories, typically through a folk horror lens, all with painstaking attention to period accuracy and detail. As with his other films, Nosferatu combines Eggers’ vision with powerhouse performances from its entire cast to create a unique movie experience.

With four feature-length movies under his belt, it’s natural to wonder where Nosferatu stacks up against Eggers’ other films, each of which has been met with critical acclaim. Nosferatu‘s Rotten Tomatoes scores indicate that audiences are almost as glowingly receptive as critics are, which marks a change from Eggers’ first three films in which the audience scores are typically far lower than the critics’ scores. The vampire film appears to have lived up to the standard that Eggers set for himself as a visionary filmmaker with a distinctive style, making it difficult to rank it among his movies.

4

The Witch (2015)

Eggers’ Folk Horror Nightmare Set In Colonial New England

Set in the 1600s, Eggers’ debut is a dark tale that focuses on a Puritan family that has been banished from their New England town. When they set up an isolated new life for themselves next to a mysterious forest, strange things begin to happen as William (Ralph Ineson), and his kin find their faith staunchly tested. Given the time that the A24-produced horror is set, William’s family naturally suspects that their eldest daughter, Thomasin, is a witch who is in cahoots with the Devil.

However, despite a number of harrowing scenes, The Witch isn’t a horror that relies on jump scares. Rather, Eggers’ slow-burner combines an eerie score with religious imagery to build an uncomfortable atmosphere. That’s not to say there are no scares in The Witch, though, with Black Phillip‘s takedown of Thomasin’s father and the cackling, naked witch both terrifying moments. Thomasin’s decision to turn her back on her religion and join the witches’ coven after witnessing her God-loving family die cements the pervading sense of dread throughout The Witch.

The Witch was easily one of the best horrors of the 2010s, so to describe it as Eggers’ “worst” film is more than a little harsh. Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, and the debuting Anya Taylor-Joy all give authentic and believable performances, and the story is given time to build a sense of dread that is satisfyingly paid off. That said, Eggers’ later movies show a clear improvement in his ability as a cinematographer.

3

The Lighthouse (2019)

Eggers’ Black-And-White Thriller That Defies Conventional Categorization

The Lighthouse is a mind-bending, genre-blending thriller that explores depravity and loneliness in equal measure. Eggers’ character-based film, set in the 1890s, focuses on a pair of lighthouse keepers whose sanity slips away after a storm leaves them stranded on a remote island. The excellent duo of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are the only faces on-screen for almost the entire movie, which gives The Lighthouse an intensely insular feeling. However, where The Lighthouse differs from Eggers’ other projects is that it has spots of comedy which break up the film’s bleakness without detracting from the situation’s intensifying dread.

Much like The Witch, though, mythology plays a big part in Eggers’ second movie, but he takes it a step further in The Lighthouse. The story line is heavily influenced by the Greek tale of Prometheus, sailors’ superstitions, and the sirens of The Odyssey. These fantastical elements, like the creepy mermaid on the scrimshaw, emphasize the blurred lines between reality and fantasy that highlight the lighthouse keepers’ descent into darkness.

In some ways, the production and aesthetic of Eggers’ The Lighthouse are better than any other Eggers movie to date. Both Nosferatu and The Northman are visually spectacular, but The Lighthouse‘s monochrome palette and almost square aspect ratio set it apart from other films. The movie seems like it was produced in the century it is set in, and its unique look adds to the claustrophobic, desperate situation that the two stewards find themselves in, making Eggers’ The Lighthouse a decidedly unique spectacle in modern cinema.

2

The Northman (2022)

Eggers’ Violent Tale Of Vengeance With A Norse Mythological Backdrop

The Northman‘s greater budget allows the director to use his talents on a much greater scale than in his first outings, and Eggers handles the transition well, using the extra funds to put on an impressive spectacle backed by a strong story line. The Northman is based on the Scandinavian legend of Amleth that inspired the likes of Hamlet, meaning many parts of Eggers’ bold tale feel surprisingly familiar despite The Northman being an original production. The Northman‘s bittersweet and brutal conclusion is particularly engrossing, and it drives home the strong narrative.

A familiar criticism faced by Eggers is that it’s difficult to tell which scenes are real and which are fantasy; in The Northman, the Valkyrie visions in particular can feel perplexing. However, that’s clearly intentional on Eggers’ part, and it’s evolved into a staple of his overarching artistic vision. The Northman is where Eggers really began to drive that point home, and it’s part of why the movie’s imagery is so memorable. The Northman is every bit as visually spectacular as the other movies on this list, and it’s strengthened by incredible performances from its cast.

1

Nosferatu (2024)

Eggers’ Gothic Horror Fever Dream That Breathes New Life Into A Classic Monster

Robert Eggers’ most recent film is also his best, as it sees him bring every one of his considerable strengths to the table for a singular horror masterpiece. A revival of the 1922 silent German Expressionist film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, Eggers’ Nosferatu chronicles the same baseline plot, which is itself an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s original Gothic horror novel Dracula.

The sheer atmosphere that Eggers is able to conjure throughout Nosferatu is a triumph, whether it’s the dread seeping out of the rotting, dilapidated walls of Orlok’s castle or the desperation and fear that riddles the seaside German city of Wisborg once the nefarious Count makes landfall. Eggers’ spectacular ability to recreate a long-gone time period in full living color is on full display, and it elevates every frame of the tale. Eggers’ movies have become the gold standard for period filmmaking, and Nosferatu both meets and surpasses the bar that has been set in that regard.

What truly sets Nosferatu above Eggers’ other movies is the strength of its cast, each of whom delivers incredible performances in their roles. Bill Skarsgård’s revolting Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp’s intoxicating Ellen Hutter are a potent reflection of each other, and they are at the heart of what makes Nosferatu such a strong movie. The actors and actresses blend seamlessly into Eggers’ dreamlike filmmaking style, which almost seems as if it was always intended for the story of Nosferatu. It’s Robert Eggers at the height of his powers, and it hints at an exciting future for the young director.

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Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name from director F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers is crafting his own version of the story for the reboot as writer and director, with Bill Skarsgård stepping into the shoes of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the tale of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire utterly infatuated with her.

Release Date

December 25, 2024

Runtime

132 Minutes

Character(s)

Count Orlok
, Ellen Hutter
, Thomas Hutter
, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz
, Friedrich Harding
, Anna Harding
, Knock
, Dr. Wilhelm Sievers
, Dockhand
, Head Nurse

Studio(s)

Regency Enterprises
, 1492 Pictures

Distributor(s)

Focus Features
, Universal Pictures

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