Spend enough time on the film side of the internet, and you're bound to find discourse on who's the better director — Ari Aster, Jordan Peele, or Robert Eggers?
I love the Midsommar and Hereditary director, and Jordan Peele (who simply doesn’t miss as a filmmaker), but after watching Nosferatu, I think I've settled upon Eggers as our greatest modern filmmaker (I'm of course excluding Fincher, PTA, Tarantino, Villeneuve, and Scorsese since I'm focusing on directors who started making feature-length films in the 2010s).
So, why is Eggers my favorite modern director? Well, you're about to find out.
He’s Not Afraid To Make Unconventional Remakes
The conventional pick to make a vampire movie would of course be Dracula, right? I mean, one of Francis Ford Coppola’s best movies is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. And, why not? He’s the most famous vampire in the world. Even kids who watch all of the Hotel Transylvania movies know who Count Dracula is. He’s been done to death.
But, you know which count a lot of people might not know? Count Orlok. However, that’s exactly who Eggers chose to direct a movie around, as he decided to update Nosferatu rather than Dracula, and I think we’re all the better for it.
Nosferatu, after all, has far fewer films based around him. Of the most notable, you of course have the 1922 original. Then, you have the 1979, Werner Herzog version, Nosferatu the Vampyre. And of course, you have the massively interesting Shadow of the Vampire, which is not quite an adaptation of Nosferatu, but rather, a what-if kind of story.
So, when Eggers decided to make his own contribution to the Nosferatu mythos, I knew it would be unique and fascinating, and he did not disappoint. In this new version, which we gave a great review, Bill Skarsgard offers a masterful performance as the count himself, and Eggers layers on the creepy in a way that is both familiar, but also entirely alien and haunting.
His direction of Lily-Rose Depp also creates one of the most unnerving performances I’ve seen in a long time. So, I’m just happy that Eggers chooses to never play it safe, even with a remake. Whatever he decides to work on, I know he’ll always leave his imprint upon it. Speaking of which…
You Can Also Never Tell What He Will Do Next
According to The InSneider, there is scuttlebutt that Eggers might approach the ‘80s classic, Labyrinth, as his next project. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if it was, because you simply cannot tell what Eggers will do next with any of his projects.
For example, when 2015’s The Witch (one of Anya Taylor-Joy’s best movies, by the way) first made waves, I had no idea that his next project would be 2019’s The Lighthouse, which is so massively different from his first movie that you might even think it comes from a different director (it also should have been nominated for Best Picture, but that’s a different article).
The Lighthouse also never prepared me for his next project, 2022’s The Northman, which I really do think more people should be talking about these days. And the thing is, each one of these movies is entirely different from the last. It’s like every movie Eggers makes is a complete curveball that I would never know I want until it arrives right in front of my face.
Other great filmmakers also have this tendency to surprise. As I mentioned at the start, I hold directors like Scorsese, Tarantino, and Fincher in the highest regard. That said, all of their films seem to have a certain, personal vibe to them where you can tell you’re watching a Scorsese movie, or a Tarantino film.
In fact, when somebody else does a movie similar to one of their films, like Joker, you might call it Scorsese-esque. Or, when somebody makes a violent movie with witty dialogue, it might be considered Tarantino-esque.
Not so with Eggers, though. Now, I’m not saying that he doesn’t have a certain style, because he definitely does (I’ll get into that next). That said, the movies he chooses to make feel so different from one another, that I really can’t pinpoint what makes Eggers so fascinating. I just know that whatever he makes, I’ll like it. There is one thing I do think connects all of his films, though.
I Wouldn't Categorize Him As A Horror Director, But All Of His Films Have Horrific Elements, Which Are Totally Unique To Him
So, here’s the thing. Ari Aster and Jordan Peele make horror movies. One might say that films like Beau Is Afraid, or Nope kind of deviate from the horror genre a bit. But, in the end, I think most people would agree that Aster and Peele are primarily horror directors.
That said, I wouldn’t categorize Eggers as a horror director, even though I feel like he always employs horror elements in his films. For example, in The Northman, which is the farthest from being in the horror genre that he’s made, there are moments in that film that genuinely give me the creeps, such as Willem Dafoe’s talking head, or Bjork’s role as The Seeress. Their appearances had me glued to my seat, but also left me feeling extremely uncomfortable, whereas the rest of the film didn’t feel nearly as unsettling.
But, that’s just it. Those aforementioned moments stick out the most to me. It’s like, he didn’t need to make a horror movie just to employ horror elements. The same goes for The Lighthouse.
In a lot of ways, I find The Lighthouse to be really funny. Willem Dafoe’s character can’t stop farting, and Robert Pattinson’s character even calls him out for it. That said, there are moments that chill me to my bones, like the “Why’d y’spill yer beans, Tommy?” moment. This is a movie that always feels like it’s on the edge of being a horror movie, but never quite delves into it completely.
Even his more outright horror movies, like The Witch and Nosferatu, have a sort of elegance to them that, well, I don’t want to say elevate them above horror, since I think horror is a perfectly worthy and important genre.
However, what I will say is that Eggers seems more interested in what lies within the horror rather than just the scares themselves, which make his “horror” movies feel wholly unique. That’s why, no matter what he makes next, I’ll be there. Even if it’s a remake of Labyrinth.
Every Film He Makes Is A Must-See Event For Me, No Matter What It Is
I want to talk about Tim Burton for a second. Now, if you had told me back in the ‘90s that Burton was going to make an Alice in Wonderland movie, I would have been over the moon. However, 2010 Burton was not 1990 Edward Scissorhands Burton, and so the Wonderland movie we got from him left much to be desired.
And, who knows? Maybe a 20-years-from-now Robert Eggers might be a shadow of his former self and be hired by Disney to make a new The Aristocats or something. However, the Eggers we have today can do no wrong for me.
I’ve seen all four feature length films of his, and while Nosferatu might be my least favorite so far (I mean, I liked it, but I didn’t love it like The Lighthouse or The Northman), I would still see a remake of Labyrinth, or whatever the hell he decides to do next in a heartbeat.
Because Eggers is just too good. I love that I don’t know what he wants to approach next, because it just means that I have something to look forward to in the future. And, if he were to try something new like an outright comedy, I have a notion that it would feel like no other comedy. That’s just how he rolls. He’s a true nonpareil in a sea of other impressive directors.
Are you also Team Eggers? For more news on other major directors, be sure to swing by here often.
