Bill Skarsgård has been in and around major English-language productions for over a decade now, appearing in Anna Karenina after a strong streak in Swedish film in 2012. In 2017, he got his big Hollywood breakthrough with It. Playing the absurdly creepy Pennywise in the triumphant return of Stephen King’s infamous clown, he’s gone from strength to strength since.
Still, it looks like these last two years, 2023 and 2024, have truly cemented the 33-year-old as a star. Last year was his action year, in which he was the primary antagonist in John Wick: Chapter 4 before the novel, but a bit lacklustre, non-stop action flick Boy Kills World. This year, he’ll headline the major, but ill-advised, remake of The Crow before staring as Count Orlok in the much more intriguing reimagining of famed vampire horror Nosferatu.
Bringing back scary
Invariably hailed among the greatest vampire movies ever made, silent German expressionist film Nosferatu helped to entrench vampires and horrifying, creepy, and evil beings in entertainment. Count Dracula followed Count Orlok to big screen prominence, more often than not depicted as a murderous and demonic being, but one who could also entice humans with his charms and supernatural powers.
In more modern cinema and entertainment as a whole, vampires have more popularly leaned into the romance angle, the undying love, and whatnot. The one-two punch of Twilight and True Blood certainly held the trend for viewers, and for online entertainment-seekers, there was Immortal Romance. The vampire-themed table game is now one of the most eye-catching games when you play roulette online in the UK. Infusing the storyline from the original slot to add bonuses to roulette, IR Roulette keeps the romantic vampire theme alive and popular through its novel gameplay.
Now, any remake or reimagining of the 1922 German movie simply couldn’t switch it up. The whole fame of the film is its dark, moody, and creepy atmosphere empowered by the iconic aesthetics of the vampire himself. While The Crow 2024 looks to be completely dialling back these similar elements that made the original so superb, Robert Eggers looks poised to emulate the tension and gloom of the original Nosferatu and deploy Skarsgård accordingly.
Skarsgård to be the face of new vampire horror
Based on the teaser trailer above, Nosferatu 2024 looks poised to bring back dark and creepy to vampire movies. With fingers crossed that he brings a similar level to his performance as he did as Pennywise, Skarsgård looks to be the perfect choice for Count Orlok. Not only will Orlok need to be the shadowy figure that haunts his own castle while Nicholas Hoult’s Thomas Hutter investigates, but he’ll also go seek to ensnare Hutter’s wife.
As THR says, the reveal trailer promises an intense vampire epic. Eggers has already proven his chops for mysterious, tense, and modern horror with The Witch and The Lighthouse. The Northman also showcased his ability to handle a large cast of star performers and get the best out of them. With the likes of Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Ineson, and Lily-Rose Depp also on set, Nosferatu has the makings of a hit.
It would have been easy to release Nosferatu in the October window to capitalise on its horror drawings. Instead, setting it apart from the gore-driven slashers and jump-scare fright fests, Nosferatu will arrive on 25 December to add some fear to the festive time of year!
