Do not dread the darkness. Embrace it. Robert Eggers’ Werwulf trailer has arrived

Robert Eggers does it again

If there’s anything Robert Eggers does well, it’s macabre history with authentic era language. Focus Features has just unveiled the terrifying new trailer for Werwulf, which Eggers claims is his darkest movie to date. He reunites with his Nosferatu cast — the hyphenate duo of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lily-Rose Depp. Bodhi Rae Breathnach, who is on the rise after movies like Hamnet, Shelter and Sense and Sensibility, also joins the period horror film. Eggers’ good luck charm, Willem Dafoe, also appears in the film.

Bad Moon Rising

Eggers has written the screenplay for Werwulf with Sjón, his co-writer on the Viking saga The Northman. Details are being kept under wraps, but The Hollywood Reporter’s sources told them “the story is set in 13th century England. The script also features dialogue that was true to the time period and has translations and annotations for those uninitiated to Old English. Initially, Eggers was planning on shooting the feature in black and white, but that is no longer the case. Suffice to say that considering the setting and the dialect, Eggers is promising another deep dive into a muddy, costumed, and violent time period consistent with his oeuvre which has earned him a loyal film following.“ Screen Daily adds that the story centers on a mysterious creature who stalks a foggy countryside as local folklore becomes a terrifying reality for the villagers.

Eggers and Sjón are producing Werwulf with Focus Features. Chris and Eleanor Columbus, who worked with Eggers on Nosferatu, will serve as executive producers.

During a recent Q&A event, Eggers told the audience that his “medieval werewolf movie” is, “the darkest thing I’ve ever written, by far.” 

A whole other level of terror

As with Eggers’ other films, the trailer for Werwulf gives you an incredibly dreadful feeling and Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski tells us to expect something on a “whole other level” from the writer/director. He says that Eggers has “such a specific and unique vision, and he has found a way to balance truly horrifying images with deep, singular aesthetics. Like all of his films, this has high-level terror and anxiety, but it’s done in a way that gives you these weird shafts of light and hope. For example, in Nosferatu, you don’t necessarily expect that you’re going to have a pretty deeply emotional experience by the end, right?“

Werwulf hits theaters on Christmas Day.

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