Is “Nosferatu” this year's go-to Christmas movie? Stars make the case: 'There's snow!'

Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Willem Dafoe talk about the need for "counterculture" Xmas programming.

Nick Romano

9 December 2024 at 1:18 pm·3-min read

Is “Nosferatu” this year's go-to Christmas movie? Stars make the case: 'There's snow!'

There are a few movie options for a family outing over the Christmas weekend this year. The kiddies will be pleased to see both Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King opening on Dec. 20 ahead of Santa's arrival. There's also Timothée Chalamet's turn as Bob Dylan in the Complete Unknown biopic, while event films like Wicked and Gladiator II will still be showing around that time.

And then there's Nosferatu.

The gothic horror reimagining of the 1922 black-and-white vampire classic, which in turn was an adaptation of the Dracula tale, will arrive on the big screen on Christmas Day — a piece of near-comic timing that is not lost on director Robert Eggers (The Northman, The Lighthouse) and his cast.

Courtesy of Focus Features Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter in 'Nosferatu' — Courtesy of Focus Features
Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter in 'Nosferatu'

"Who doesn't love a good scare on Christmas?" Lily-Rose Depp, playing Ellen Hutter, the object of the bloodsucker's obsession, tells Entertainment Weekly. "There are a couple Christmas-y Easter eggs in there, so I feel like if you watch it on Christmas, you'll feel in tune, you'll feel like they're in the same time as you. And, you know, there's snow! It gets pretty cold. Who doesn't love to think about death and the realm of the dead on Christmas Day?"

When asked if Nosferatu could be this year's go-to Christmas movie, Nicholas Hoult, playing Thomas Hutter, Ellen's real-estate agent husband who becomes tragically trapped in the vampire's web, believes, "There is a strong, strong argument for that."

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

"There are obvious Christmas movies, and then there are ones that are counterculture that become part of an opposite to [the] Christmas feel," Hoult says. "It's more about traditions in some ways. So I think if people see the movie on Christmas and enjoy it, then it could quickly become a Christmas viewing essential down the years."

Courtesy of Focus Features Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding, Emma Corrin as Anna Harding, and Willem Dafoe as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz in 'Nosferatu' — Courtesy of Focus Features
Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding, Emma Corrin as Anna Harding, and Willem Dafoe as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz in 'Nosferatu'

Nosferatu features Bill Skarsgård in his most transformative role yet as the dreaded Count Orlok. On assignment from work, Thomas makes the long journey to Orlok's castle in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania to sell the Count property back in his home city in Germany. Even Santa Claus dare not tread in this unholy fortress, which becomes Thomas' prison when Orlok makes a play to claim his wife, Ellen, with whom he's maintained a years-long psychic connection.

Eggers previously told EW that, unlike his past films, including The Witch, he decided to embrace jump scares for Nosferatu. Not exactly your typical holiday movie fare, is it?

Willem Dafoe, playing the Van Helsing-esque figure of Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz, agrees there's "absolutely" an argument to be made for Nosferatu being a Christmas movie. "Every celebration has its shadow side, so why not?" he exclaims.

And, hey! There's also a Christmas tree in the movie. (See above.)

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly