“I used a lot of references from Leonardo da Vinci”: David White on Nosferatu

Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu is a chilling reimagining of FW Murnau’s expressionist fantasy, steeped in gothic dread as Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) falls under the spell of the monstrous Count Orlok, played by an unrecognisable Bill Skarsgård. Drawing heavily from the vision ideated by occultist artist Albin Grau for the 1922 film, Orlok’s verminous, emaciated form is a thing of nightmares – his grotesque, skeletal fingers and milky white scleral eyes radiating pure horror. Eggers’s direction brings an eerie, dreamlike quality, paying homage to Murnau’s classic while amplifying its sense of impending doom. Special makeup effects designer David White’s extraordinary prosthetic work completes the transformation, rendering Orlok in ghastly, near-expressionistic detail.

Ahead of the film being available to rent or buy from home, White spoke with The Upcoming about his wide-ranging sources of inspiration, which span from the Renaissance’s romantic vision of death to the iconic Count Orlok of 1922, his collaboration with Eggers, the cutting-edge prosthetic techniques he employed, and more.

Christina Yang

Nosferatu is released digitally on demand on 3^rd February 2025.

Watch the trailer for Nosferatu here: