'Nosferatu' – Lily-Rose Depp was inspired by Isabelle Adjani's performance in 'Possession'

Focus Features celebrated Christmas with the theatrical release of the remake of the horror classic Nosferatufrom the screenwriter and director Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman).

In the gothic horror film, Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol, Silent Night) plays a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany, who is stalked by the Transylvanian vampire, Count Orlok/Nosferatu, played in this version by Bill Skarsgård (Barbarian, IT), bringing with it unspeakable horror.

How did Depp prepare for the role?

In a recent interview with IndieWire, the young actress revealed that she was inspired by Isabelle Adjani and its interpretation in Possession (1981) by Andrzej Zulawski, for her characterization as Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu by Eggers. Interestingly, Adjani also played Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) by Werner Herzog.

“I thought a lot about 'Possession,' of course. Isabelle Adjani has an incredible and iconic performance in her. She was also an Ellen from the past, so I felt very honored to carry the French girl baton to play Ellen in this version. She is an actress who inspires me a lot.”

The plot of Possession follows Sam Neill as a spy returning home from the countryside with his wife (Adjani) and son. All is not calm on the marital front when the wife files for divorce and the couple descends into a destructive cycle that not only includes infidelity and neglect, but violence, a tentacled alien creature, and doppelgangers.

Paramount Pictures is developing a remake with Parker Finn (Smile, Smile 2) and Robert Pattinson.

For his interpretation in PossessionAdjani won the Best Actress award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, but reportedly attempted suicide after the film's release due to the extreme emotional and psychic demands of her performance. He later told Interview that the production was one of “great violence that I agreed to assumeAdjani added that it is considered a “survivor” after the immersive experience required for the role.

The rest of the cast of Nosferatuincludes Nicholas Hoult (Juror No. 2, The Menu), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter, Nocturnal Animals), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Simon McBurney (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Northman), y Willem Dafoe (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Lighthouse) as Professor Albin Eberthart Von Franz, vampire hunter.

Eggers wrote and directed the remake, as well as producing it alongside Jeff Robinov, John Graham, Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus.

Nosferatu It has just been released in theaters in Mexico and the rest of Latin America on January 1, 2025.