Of all the directors associated with so-called “elevated horror” – the controversial descriptor assigned to the many original and provocative genre films to come out of the 2010s – few are as fascinating as Robert Eggers. The New Hampshire native’s films are immediately distinctive, from their startling historical accuracy to their creeping, at times almost overwhelming sense of dread. In anticipation of Eggers’ upcoming remake of the vampire classic “Nosferatu” (filmed by F.W. Murnau in 1922 and again by Werner Herzog in 1979), The Brattle Theatre has programmed a retrospective of the director’s first three films, titled “Robert Eggers’ Dark Universe.” It’s an excellent opportunity to brush up on Eggers’ work – and, more than likely, scare the bejeezus out of yourself in the dark.
The series begins, appropriately enough, with Eggers’ directorial debut: “The Witch” (2015), which screens Tuesday and Wednesday. The film, about a family of 17th century Puritans who abandon their colony only to be tormented by sinister forces, stands as one of the most period-faithful films ever made about Colonial Massachusetts; Eggers drew much of the dialogue from transcripts of actual witch trials, and the sets were all built using period-appropriate materials and tools. More importantly, it is absolutely terrifying, as teenage Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy, in the role that put her on the map) is tempted and tormented by eerie figures in the woods, the suspicions and manias of her family and one very nasty billy goat. It’s as assured a debut as the genre has ever seen, and established Eggers as a master of the arcane.
Eggers’ sophomore effort, “The Lighthouse” (2019, screening Wednesday and Thursday) is an even stranger beast. The story is simple: Two lighthouse keepers, a veteran (Willem Dafoe) and a novice (Robert Pattinson) are stranded during a brutal storm, going slowly mad from the conditions and each other’s company. Though less overtly supernatural than “The Witch” (give or take a mermaid that may or may not be real), “The Lighthouse” feels haunted; its grimy black-and-white photography and muffled sound design make it look and feel as if the film itself was dredged up from the bottom of the ocean. It is also, to my taste anyway, hysterically funny. Dafoe is clearly having the time of his life playing a salty sea dog, and not much beats Pattinson screaming at Dafoe, in a full-on New England fisherman’s accent, “I’m sick of yah faaaaahts!” “The Lighthouse” is one of those films that exists more or less in a genre of one, and if you happen to be on its darkly peculiar wavelength, there’s a good chance it will become one of your favorites.
“The Northman” (2022), Eggers’ third film (screening Dec. 5) stands in contrast to its predecessors. Where “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse” contain their action largely to a single location, “The Northman” is a sprawling epic, following a lone viking (Alexander Skarsgård) on his quest to avenge his parents against his treacherous uncle. At first blush, this epic could be seen as Eggers’ “sell-out” picture, an acquiescence to a commercial mainstream that demands violence and spectacle rather than nuance. Make no mistake, however: “The Northman” is every bit as bleak and uncompromising as Eggers’ earlier work, a brutal and morally ambiguous retelling of the fable that inspired “Hamlet” told with the director’s signature mix of archaic language, stunning production design and jet-black humor. It also finds him working with perhaps his best cast to date: In addition to Skarsgård and returning Eggers players Dafoe and Taylor-Joy, watch for Ethan Hawke and Nicole Kidman as the warrior’s parents, as well as, in a brilliant coup of stunt-casting, Icelandic pop legend Björk as a mysterious, soothsaying witch.
Will “Nosferatu” earn its place in the Eggers canon? Time will tell (keep an eye out for a free preview screening at The Brattle this month, courtesy of IFFBoston). It would, however, seem to be a perfect match between director and material, and Eggers has reportedly had it in the works since before filming “The Lighthouse.” In any event, those with a taste for the macabre and the arcane will be looking forward to one more visit to Robert Eggers’ Dark Universe.
Oscar Goff is a writer and film critic based in Somerville. He is film editor and senior critic for the Boston Hassle and his work has appeared in the monthly Boston Compass newspaper and publications such as WBUR’s The ARTery and iHeartNoise. He is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and the Online Film Critics Society.
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