"The Witch" was seen by me at Sundance 2015 and then at TIFF that very same year. It's a spine-tingler. I wrote back in September:
"One of the best films is "The Witch," which sadly is only slated for release next year! A real shame if you ask me. Robert Eggers’ haunting and spooky film was far and away the best movie I saw at Sundance 2015 and the one with the most potential to be a total critical darling." It wasn't your typical horror movie. More artsy than gory. More interested in building up dread within its spooky atmosphere. I couldn't have liked it more because of that. Watch out for Eggers, I'm astonished this was his first film. He directs in such an assured, effective, veteran-like way. Go see it right away if you haven't."
Eggers is prepping for his next project and I'm glad to report that he'll be staying in the horror genre with a remake of "Nosferatu." I have long had a fascination with Nosferatu's cinematic history. Sure, there's the original 1922 F.W. Murnau classic, but Werner Herzog did a hell of a job remaking it in 1979 with "Nosferatu the Vampyre." Klaus Kinski played the blood sucker in a way that, well, only Kinski could. Also 2000's "Shadow of the Vampire" had Willem Dafoe earning an Oscar nomination for an astounding performance. In fact, he should have won NOT Benicio Del Toro for "Traffic."
"Nosferatu" has always been the best possible depiction of a Vampire in cinema. There's hasn't been anything that has come close to it. I'm ecstatic that Eggers has decided to continue working in a period setting, he seems to thrive with creating atmosphere. I'm excited. The fact that he's remaking Nosferatu and not Dracula means he has a vision for this and isn't being pushed by a studio to have the name 'Dracula' in the title. He's set a high bar, but I believe in Eggers.