A new Robert Eggers film is cause for celebration. Over the course of the last decade-plus, Eggers has cemented himself as one of the most audacious, distinct, and idiosyncratic voices in modern genre filmmaking, with works like 2015’s The Witch, 2019’s The Lighthouse, 2022’s The Northman, and 2024’s Nosferatu. Now, Eggers is returning with his fifth feature film, Werwulf, and the film just received a brand-new poster, and folks, it is nothing short of a barn-burner.
Something to be deeply respected and admired about Eggers is the way in which his films feel so hand-crafted. Oftentimes, this has extended to the marketing of the films as well, and that looks to very much be the case with this new Werwulf poster, which has far more visually in common with highly stylized concept art than it does with the glut of traditional modern posters.
The poster is sparse in its approach, utilizing the black-canvas technique to allow the darkness to feel claustrophobic and even suffocating. The only source of light in the image is that of the moon, but even that is drastically reduced in size. The bottom portion of the poster is occupied by Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s character, mid-transformation, in what looks to be a desolate graveyard. The aesthetics and vibe of the poster are very much intended to harken to the period setting of the film, but it’s also a throwback to the era of horror films that have had the staunchest impact on Eggers and his work: the silent and early sound eras.
In the 1920s and ‘30s, the majority of posters were hand-drawn illustrations. This is why, if you go digging for the original posters of things like John S. Robertson’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Todd Browning’s Dracula, or James Whale’s Frankenstein, you’ll find some absolute bangers of illustrated-by-hand promotional images. The Werwulf poster is highly evocative of this precise era of cinematic marketing, despite not utilizing these exacting techniques, and it rules.
One of my favorite things about the poster is the actual contortion and positioning of Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s body. Having his hand stretch up toward the night sky, so separate from the rest of him, allows his flayed fingers to be caught right in the scope of the shining moon and makes for an image that feels instantly iconic.
All of this bodes extremely well for Eggers’ new film, which is releasing on Christmas Day of this year, following the exact same release schedule that his previous film, Nosferatu, did. That film wound up becoming an unexpected box office sensation in a way that his earlier films hadn’t, so Werwulf looks to be his carte blanche passion project in response. Very excited to see what kind of gnarly and viciously upsetting things Eggers has waiting for audiences under the Christmas tree this year.
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