Though having established himself as a major modern horror storyteller, Nosferatu‘s Robert Eggers couldn’t crack the code on adapting a fellow iconic horror monster, Frankenstein. Eggers first broke out with the original horror movies The Witch and The Lighthouse, later branching out with his adaptation of the Scandinavian legend of Amleth in The Northman. With Nosferatu, which he spent nearly a decade developing, the writer/director ventured into a remake for his first time ever, which has already resulted in critical and commercial success.
During a recent interview with Curzon to discuss the release of Nosferatu, Eggers reflected on how he chooses which projects to develop, and his approach to then writing them. Amid this conversation, the writer/director recalled having attempted to develop his own take on Frankenstein, stating that it came about after the birth of his son, and got two weeks into it before he recognized “it definitely sucked” and abandoned it. Check out what Eggers explained in the quote and video below:
Sometimes you know you’ve got a dud. I’m super, super excited for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, but when my son was born, I had an unconscious urge, I’m sure because of that, but as I started writing, I was like, “Oh yeah, this is why,” but as I started to try to do Frankenstein, which after two weeks, I was like, “There’s no way I can do this, it’s impossible.” It definitely sucked, I’ll tell you that.
What This Means For Eggers & Frankenstein
It’s Not The First Time He’s Had To Put Something On The Backburner
While Eggers’ feeling that his take on the iconic Gothic novel was not a worthy approach is a respectably honest one to have, fans of the writer/director are sure to be in disagreement that his Frankenstein would have “sucked“. Though The Witch initially garnered a mixed reception from audiences at the time of its release, viewers have not only since looked favorably upon it, but on all four of his movies to date, currently maintaining a rare perfect streak of scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Check out the Rotten Tomatoes scores for Eggers’ movies in the chart below:
|
Title |
RT Critic Score |
RT Audience Score |
|---|---|---|
|
The Witch |
91% |
60% |
|
The Lighthouse |
90% |
72% |
|
The Northman |
90% |
64% |
|
Nosferatu |
85% |
75% |
Interestingly, should Eggers have moved ahead with his version of Mary Shelley’s novel, he would have been one of many filmmakers to have a Frankenstein-inspired movie released within the past few years, albeit to mixed results. Diablo Cody’s romantic comedy-skewing Lisa Frankenstein was met with the same divided reception as her previous horror cult hit Jennifer’s Body, while both the indie horror film The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster and Emma Stone-led Poor Things were both critical hits. Additionally, 2025 will have two new adaptations, with Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!.
Even if Eggers doesn’t feel confident in his vision for the horror adaptation, that doesn’t necessarily rule him out from making his own Frankenstein. Though it doesn’t sound as impactful as the 1922 classic short film was, Eggers was notably passionate about making a new Nosferatu, having begun developing it well before his first movie was ever released, only to have to wait until he found producers to partner with for his vision. If the filmmaker suddenly felt the urge to go back and try again, it’s possible his adaptation could enjoy the same passion project attention he gave his latest hit.
Our Take On Eggers’ Scrapped Frankenstein Adaptation
Nosferatu’s Success Proves He Should Try Again
Given his own uncertainty about adapting Shelley’s novel, part of me would rather see Eggers dedicate his attention to a project he feels more passionate about than Frankenstein. That being said, given how well Nosferatu turned out, I think it would actually be interesting to see him tackle the Bride of Frankenstein story, not only because he nailed the Romanticism of the era in his remake, but also because part of his reason for making Nosferatu instead of Dracula was its female protagonist being the heroine, a perfect mentality to have for a retelling of Bride.
Source: Curzon
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Frankenstein
Frankenstein’s monster is a creature created by Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Assembled from dead body parts and brought to life, the monster is intelligent yet misunderstood, seeking acceptance but often rejected due to his terrifying appearance, leading him to vengeance. Frankenstein and his monster have been featured in dozens of movies, TV shows, video games, and other forms of media.
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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.
