Willem Dafoe’s Upcoming Horror Movie Remake Has An Unheard Of Challenge After 9-Year Rotten Tomatoes Streak

Willem Dafoe’s upcoming remake of Nosferatu faces a bizarre challenge after the Rotten Tomatoes scores of director Robert Eggers’ last three movies. Willem Dafoe has another busy year in 2024 after the success of his Oscar-winning movie Poor Things, with a few exciting horror movies joining his resume this year. In addition to another collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos in Kinds of Kindness, Dafoe is starring in two long-awaited films in the horror genre: Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2 and Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu.

The latter film marks this third collaboration with Robert Eggers after The Lighthouse and The Northman, as they now tackle a remake of the 1922 classic vampire movie Nosferatu. Loosely inspired by the classic tale of Dracula, Willem Dafoe stars in Nosferatu’s cast as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, who essentially serves as this story’s version of Van Helsing. With acclaimed horror villain actor Bill Skårsgard also in the lead alongside Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nosferatu is shaping up to be another critical hit for Eggers, though it comes with a unique challenge based on the director’s past Rotten Tomatoes scores trend.

All 3 Of Robert Eggers’ Movies Hold 90% Scores On Rotten Tomatoes (Can Nosferatu Continue The Trend?)

Nosferatu can either bizarrely continue or break Eggers’ reviews trend

Beginning with his feature film debut, The Witch, all three Robert Eggers movies so far hold “Certified Fresh” 90% scores from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s highly unusual that every movie in a director’s filmography would earn the same aggregated score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, especially one with such a high rating that pulls from well over 300 reviews each. The Witch’s 90% score is aggregated from 336 reviews, The Lighthouse’s equivalent score is weighted from 394 reviews, and The Northman’s Rotten Tomatoes score is based on 384 reviews, making their shared results all the more impressive.

After Robert Eggers’ first three movies, Nosferatu has the curious challenge of either trying to beat his previous films’ 90% score or tying it. If the upcoming horror movie achieves a score lower or higher than 90%, then Eggers’ distinctive Rotten Tomatoes streak is broken, which seems more than likely to be the case. It’s probable that Eggers has another critically acclaimed film on his hands with Nosferatu, but the likelihood of yet another 90% score isn’t high.

Willem Dafoe’s 2 Horror Movies This Year Give Him An Exciting Challenge

Dafoe is updating two classic horror IPs

In 2024, Willem Dafoe is starring in two anticipated horror movies based on beloved IPs; Beetlejuice 2 follows up Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic, while Nosferatu remakes the 1922 classic of the same name inspired by Dracula. Dafoe’s iconic movie follow-ups also come from acclaimed horror directors, making the expectations for both films extremely high. While this gives both Nosferatu and Beetlejuice 2 greater pressure to succeed, it also gives Dafoe a unique opportunity to put his stamp on a new generation’s take on two classic horror stories in the same year – whether they meet their predecessors’ acclaim or not.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes