Naman Shrestha
A remake of the 1922 silent film ‘Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,’ which was adapted from the novel ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker, ‘Nosferatu’ is a gothic horror movie co-written and directed by Robert Eggers. When an estate agent named Thomas Hutter and his new bride, Ellen, travel all the way to Transylvania to meet up with a prospective client named Count Orlok, little did they know that their life is about to turn upside down. As Thomas leaves Ellen under the care and company of their friends Friedrich and Anna Harding, she begins to get haunted by a terrifying vampire who is after her blood.
Soon, when the horrific visions become all too much for Ellen, all hell breaks loose. The vampire movie consists of compelling performances from a talented ensemble cast comprising Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe. Set in the 1830s, the makers do a commendable job of creating atmospheric horror, mainly through the use of natural horror elements — darkness and shadows.
Nosferatu Filming Locations
The shooting for ‘Nosferatu’ was mainly carried out in the Czech Republic, especially in Prague and a few other locations. Some portions were reportedly also shot in Romania and Toronto, Ontario. According to reports, principal photography for the vampire movie got underway in February 2023 and continued for the next three months or so before getting wrapped up in May of the same year. When Nicholas Hoult, who portrays Thomas Hutter, was taping the chase scenes with the wolves, he claimed that he felt “real fear” on set.
Prague, Czech Republic
A major portion of ‘Nosferatu’ was lensed in the capital of the Czech Republic — Prague. To be specific, the production team set up camp in the Barrandov Studios at Kříženeckého nám. 322/5 in Prague. The production designer, Craig Lathrop, a longtime collaborator of Robert Eggers, reportedly built about 60 sets, including the streets of the fictional city of Wisborg. Spread across 117,000 square feet, the film studio consists of 11 sound stages, production offices, dressing rooms, make-up rooms, and a catering area.
Moreover, its backlot area consists of two permanent sets — The Medieval Town and Paris Street — and more space to build new sets, making it an ideal filming destination for the Robert Eggers directorial. Another key filming site in the city of Prague, where several important scenes were taped, is Invalidovna. Built in 1731–1737, the building is located at Sudkovy sady 24/1 and is considered a national landmark due to its rich cultural history.
Other Locations in the Czech Republic
The filming unit of ‘Nosferatu’ also traveled to other places across the Czech Republic, including Kostelec u Křížků, Tušť, Věstín, Milovice, the Prachov Rocks, Týřovice, Kublov, Podsedice, and Velká Amerika. They also took over the gothic style Rožmitál pod Třemšínem Castle to record important sequences for the movie. Situated at Ing. Lízla 1 in Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, it was constructed in the 13th century and was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the 16th century. A few scenes, particularly those set in the gatehouse and courtyard in the castle in the film, were also lensed in the magnificent Pernštejn Castle at Pernštejn, 592 62 Nedvědice in the South Moravian Region.
The crew also settled upon Libochovice Chateau, a 17th-century Baroque castle in Nám 5. května čp. 1, 411 17 Libochovice in the Ústí nad Labem region, to shoot a few sequences. The film’s director of photography, Jarin Blaschke, shared some insights related to production in an interview with Focus Features. Upon being asked to shed some light on the challenges faced by the team during the filming process, he shared, “Probably our biggest challenge was having so many of the interior scenes shot with the lights off. Rob seems to give me a challenge like this in every film. In The Witch, we had children shut up in a goat’s shed.”
Jarin elaborated, “In The Lighthouse, we had to shoot the actors under the table with the lights out. In The Northman, the main character is in a shed again with no lights and no fire.” In this movie, there’s page after page of dialogue where people are in spaces with no lights. This pushed me to test the limits of moonlight and to shoot scenes with no lights that looked real.” He added that the team worked with whatever they had access to and didn’t pick out specific locations that much, adding that most of the extravagant sets were constructed using the services of a soundstage.
Romania
Romania also served as the shooting site for the Lily-Rose Depp starrer. A few exterior sequences of ‘Nosferatu’ were also recorded at the legendary Gothic-Renaissance castle called Corvin Castle at Strada Curtea Corvinilor 1-3 in Hunedoara in Transylvania, Romania. To be specific, the premises of the medieval castle doubled up as the exteriors of Count Orlok’s Castle Orlok. “With big locations like Orlok’s castle, there isn’t much we can do. We just put the camera wherever it fit and got the shot,” Jarin added, highlighting the constraints of filming at the location.
In an interview with Empire, Robert Eggers explained the significance of choosing the region as a filming site. He said, “We wanted to shoot Transylvania for Transylvania, but at the end, it wasn’t financially feasible. So we shot some plates. Most of Transylvania (in the film) is the Czech Republic, but the most epic landscapes are actually Transylvania, including that castle.”
Toronto, Ontario
The cast and crew of ‘Nosferatu’ also landed in Toronto, the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. Over the years, the multicultural city has gained the status of an iconic shooting location and has hosted the production of multiple movies and shows. Some of the popular titles shot in Toronto are ‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Trap,’ ‘Black Christmas,’ ‘It,’ and ‘Frankenstein.’
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