Bill Skarsgard’s Intense Vampire Epic

Robert Eggers‘ first Nosferatu trailer shows the Witch and The Lighthouse filmmaker’s dark and intense new take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The horror film stars Bill Skarsgard as Count Orlok (aka Nosferatu/Dracula), along with Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Willem Dafoe.

The official description from Focus Features: “Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.”

While the teaser trailer doesn’t yet reveal Nosferatu’s face, Skarsgard, who previously played Pennywise the Clown in the It films, reportedly worked with an opera singer to lower his voice for the role. “It was like conjuring pure evil,” he told Esquire. “It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me.”

Added Eggers to Empire: “I’ll say that Bill has so transformed, I’m fearful that he might not get the credit that he deserves because he’s just … he’s not there.”

Eggers also promised the film would deliver the scares. “There hasn’t been an old-school gothic movie that’s actually scary in a while. And I think that the majority of audiences will find this one to be the case.”

Nosferatu is considered a remake of the 1922 silent German expressionist classic, with Eggers writing and directing. The helmer was originally set to team with his The Witch star Anya Taylor-Joy on the film. Production took place in the Czech Republic last year.

Nosferatu will be released Dec. 25, Christmas Day.