Yahoo Lifestyle PETA Plans Protest at ‘Nosferatu’ Screening: Rats ‘Didn’t Cause the Plague!’
PETA plans to protest this Sunday’s Academy screening of director Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu.”
The animal rights organization plans to send a “giant rat” to the Samuel Goldwyn Theater to “set the record straight” about the 5,000 live rats Eggers uses during one sequence in the film where rats descend on London, bringing the bubonic plague with them.
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In a statement, PETA’s director of animals in film and television Lauren Thomasson said, “A human is no more likely to be harmed or killed by a rat in real life than by a vampire, and false portrayals of these animals as harbingers of death deny viewers the chance to see them as the intelligent, social and affectionate individuals they are. The only ‘pests’ moviegoers need to be concerned with are directors who subject animals to the chaos and confusion of a film set, and PETA encourages everyone to see through these shameful stereotypes and give rats the respect they deserve.”
The PETA rat will carry a sign that reads, “Rats Have Rights! We Didn’t Cause the Plague!”
Following one of the first public screenings of the film, Eggers discussed the scene in a conversation with Guillermo del Toro, saying, “If there’s rats in the foreground, they’re real, and then they thin out and become CG rats in the background. And they were well-trained.” He added, “I didn’t know that rats are incontinent, so the smell is insane.”
Production designer Craig Lathrop told Variety of the scene, “The rats. None of them were lost. We found all of them. They were all there. We built these plexiglass barriers so that the live rats would be in a controlled area,” he said, adding that the production took care to ensure the rodents’ safety. “In the scene on the street, the horses are on one side of the plexiglass barrier, and the rats are on the other, so that the rats wouldn’t run underneath their feet and get squashed, so nobody would get hurt.”
PETA points out that rats form close bonds with their families and friends, enjoy playing and wrestling, and even giggle when tickled—and are less likely than dogs or cats to catch and transmit parasites and viruses.
The film is Eggers’ reimagining of the 1922 silent German horror classic “Nosferatu,” depicting a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman played by Lily-Rose Depp and the terrifying vampire Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) infatuated with her.
Variety has reached out to Focus Features for comment.
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