The trailer for Robert Eggers’ latest film, Werwulf, is here, and it looks dark.
Eggers rose to notoriety in 2015 with his first feature film, The Witch, a 17th-century period piece that focused on a family who run into a mysterious dark force that turns them against one another.
He then returned in 2019 with The Lighthouse, an unforgettable, somewhat Eldritch film that focused on two lighthouse keepers stranded on an island as they grapple with each other’s spiralling insanity.
The Northman came in 2022, a critical success that struggled at the box office, a gritty epic centred around Norse mythology and Viking conquest.
Most recently, Eggers stepped closer into gothic horror heritage with his own take on Nosferatu, remaking the 1922 classic to suit modern audiences.
Recently, we got our first proper look at Werwulf, a story that will be out in cinemas on Christmas Day.
Eggers has gained recognition throughout the industry for his gothic, dark and unique take on films, all of which so far have taken incredible influence from folklore or legend. This time, he’s back in 13th-century England, to a village that’s being terrorised by a mysterious creature.
It will star Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lily-Rose Depp, both of whom appeared in Nosferatu a couple of years ago.
Also reuniting with Eggers is Willem Dafoe, who already looks unsettling as can be in the trailer.
What is in the ‘Werwulf’ trailer?
The footage we’ve seen so far in the fast-paced trailer certainly shows why Eggers has become such an iconic name in the gothic horror scene of recent years.
From pitchfork-wielding mobs to writhing bodies and bleak scenes across the English countryside, this trailer sets the tone for what will be a gruesome and unsettling picture that combines nature with religion and the supernatural.
We also see Taylor-Johnson’s body covered in blood, likely following a beastly transformation, with deformed villagers and tapestries depicting a wolf-like beast torturing a mob.
There’s a lot of biblical imagery, with a priest-like (maybe monk?) character leading what can be assumed to be a younger version of Taylor-Johnson’s character into a cave.
We get a look at Dafoe, who will play ‘The Hunter’, as he gives an unsettling, dark grin to the camera, while we also see what looks to be a feral woman crawling menacingly in the dark.
The trailer is narrated in Middle English, as we hear a character talk about a “cursed lycan”, a term often used in historic folklore to refer to a Werewolf.
The film’s language looks to be entirely in Middle English; something similar was done in The Lighthouse, which featured heavy 19th-century nautical West Country dialect.
The Witch also had similar stylistic choices.
The trailer clearly sets the tone for what viewers will be seeing in cinemas at the end of the year; it’s dark, it’s twisted, and it’s uncomfortable.
These are all things that, when Eggers is in charge, will make a hit.
There’s little colour to be seen, with some shots even appearing completely in black and white.
The setting appears to be dirty and dank, bleak and foggy, isolated. Not the place to be found alone on a full moon.
For me, the trailer alone has made this one of the most exciting films to be coming out over the remainder of 2026; Eggers clearly knows what he’s doing.
Eggers praises Taylor-Johnson’s ‘harrowing’ performance
Speaking to Empire, Eggers praised Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s work for the film, stating that he really gives a “harrowing” performance.
He sees his lead as the ideal choice for a heavily masculine character that still holds the qualities necessary to play just that, but with a subtle, internal vulnerability.
He’s gone into this one with little concern that the film will just be another cliché full-moon flick, crediting traditional folklore and the film’s faith to it for what will make an otherwise tired trope feel fresh.
Eggers doesn’t go light on the faith to his source material, either.
Much of the dialogue in The Witch was taken from 17th-century court records, that involved cases of parents accusing their own children of being demons.
The Lighthouse also used similar material for its dialogue, with the main plot stemming from an old Welsh legend about a supernatural incident that occurred on a lighthouse in the early 1800s.
In recent years, the iconic Resident Evil franchise took its second-latest instalment ‘Village’ into similar folklore, set in an old village rampant with lycanthropes (werewolves).
2023’s Teen Wolf: The Movie also took the trope to the big screen, in a more stereotypical modern take on the genre.
Werwulf, though, will most certainly be a standout that will see Eggers once again make a successful, fresh impact on the industry with his inspiration from historical lore.
Eggers’ Werwulf looks dirty, bleak, and, of course, horrifying, and it’s out in cinemas on 25 December.
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