Nosferatu Continues A Robert Eggers Rotten Tomatoes Trend And Perfectly Explains Why It Keeps Happening

WARNING: Major spoilers for Nosferatu aheadUpon its debut, Robert Eggers' much-anticipated horror movie Nosferatu was met with critical acclaim and a box office return much higher than initial projections, but it still continued a Rotten Tomatoes trend for Robert Eggers' movies. Starring Bill Skarsgård as the nefarious Count Orlok, Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent German Expressionist movie from which the character originates. Early reviews for Nosferatu were stellar, and as more critics and moviegoers have registered their opinions, the high Rotten Tomatoes scores have held steady.

Prior to Nosferatu, each of Robert Eggers' movies achieved a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 90% or higher, indicating that at least 90% of critics rated the movie as "fresh". To simplify, a Tomatometer score is the percentage of critics who gave the movie a positive review. While Nosferatu may come up short of the 90% mark, it's settled in around 86% after the first five days in the theaters. The fourth movie in the up-and-coming auteur's filmography, Nosferatu actually broke a record for Robert Eggers with regard to its audience reception.

Robert Eggers' Audience Scores Are Much Lower Than His Critic Scores

Each Of Eggers' Four Feature Films Has Excellent Critic Scores, But Middling Audience Scores

As incredible as Robert Eggers' Tomatometer scores have been, his Popcornmeter scores (a measure of what percentage of audience reviewers register positive reviews) have been middling at best. Despite all four of his movies registering at 86% or higher with critics, Nosferatu has so far achieved the highest audience score, at just 75%. The disparity is stark in two examples, as the difference between the critic score and audience score for two of his movies (The Witch and The Northman) is greater than 25%.

While it's not uncommon for there to be some disparity between critic and audience scores, it usually skews in the opposite direction. Oftentimes, critics will treat a popcorn movie or blockbuster with a more discerning and disparaging eye, while moviegoers in search of entertainment at the movies will embrace a film. For example, Sony's Marvel movie Venom was shredded by critics, and holds a Tomatometer score of 30% while its Popcornmeter score is 80%. It makes Robert Eggers' movies a bit of an enigma, but Nosferatu actually provides plenty of evidence as to why there's a disparity.

Robert Eggers' Methodical Film-Making Requires Patience

His Attention To Detail Inherently Makes His Movies Slow Burns

Digging into the Rotten Tomatoes comments on Eggers' movies, one of the common audience complaints is that Eggers' movies are slow, and occasionally the word "boring" is used. In reality, Eggers' movies are somewhat slow to develop, but that's merely a by-product of his film-making style. Eggers is famous for his painstaking attention to detail, both in creating the historical setting in which his stories take place and in establishing his characters.

Nosferatu perfectly demonstrates that attention to detail, particularly with regard to character development. To be clear, the detail that Eggers puts into creating a dilapidated Transylvanian castle or an 1830s German port city is mind-blowing, but the slow burn he puts into his characters is next-level. It takes more than half the movie to fully understand that Lily-Rose Depp's Ellen Hutter is driven by the guilt of her past summoning of Count Orlok, but it's a key aspect of fully grasping her self-sacrifice at the end of the movie.

Eggers' Folk Horror Stories Are Hard For A Broad Audience To Identify With

Each Movie Is Heavy With Foreign Language And Specific Regional Lore

Each of Eggers' movies (even some elements of the more action-adventure-leaning The Northman) falls into the folk horror subgenre, which is defined by the use of folk stories and ancient lore to inspire dread. The reason why lies in how heavily Eggers uses regional elements like language and period-specific aesthetics, costumes, and behavior. Because of that, modern audiences can struggle to fully connect or even understand all the details required to fully digest each movie. The films can be so far removed from modern sensibilities that they become difficult to connect with from an entertainment perspective.

One of the defining features of Count Orlok is how different he is from the traditional Dracula, and Eggers took his vampire even farther away from Bram Stoker's baseline by leaning into the traditional folklore of Eastern Europe. Elements like Count Orlok's mustache, his corpse-like body, and his traditional Transylvanian nobleman robes are all a result of Eggers trying to recreate a realistic vampire based in folklore. However, that means that Count Orlok goes against the expectations of most of the audience right from the jump.

Obscured Advertising Means Audiences Don't Always Know What They're Getting

Eggers' Films Are Very Conservative In Title And Promotion

Nosferatu is the highest-profile movie that Eggers has produced, given its Christmas Day release date, elevated budget, and celebrated cast. His three movies before that were far more conservative in their promotion, and obscured in how much of the movie was revealed. Even his titles reveal virtually nothing about the movies' plots, which can lead to misplaced expectations among moviegoers. When a movie fails to meet their expectations, it's easy to see how that would register as a negative experience with the average theater patron, resulting in a poor review.

Nosferatu was interpreted by many as a traditional vampire movie coming into the theater, which may have left them confused by some of the movie's more important elements. The Gothic horror movie is driven by psychic connections, nightmarish dream walking sequences, and overt sexual overtones and imagery, which is a far cry from the traditional vampire fare that has been in theaters for the last few years.

Eggers' Movies Are Destined To Be Cult Classics

Low Audience Scores And Box Office Totals Obscure How Excellent The Movies Are

Eggers audience scores have been far lower than his critic scores upon their release, and the box office has followed for each of his last two movies. However, those elements don't have anything to do with the movies' quality, and as a result, Eggers' movies are destined to become cult classics. The streaming revolution has led to movies and TV shows being rediscovered by the public months or years after their initial release, and Eggers' movies seem like great candidates for that. Eggers already has a dedicated fanbase, and it will only grow with time.

Nosferatu sort of breaks the mold for Eggers with how much initial success and recognition it has generated in just its first week in theaters. However, it may still be destined for cult classic status, given how distinctly different it is from traditional horror and traditional vampire movies. Once Nosferatu hits streaming platforms, it stands a good chance of gaining a second wind and developing cult classic status.