In the span of only three movies, Robert Eggers has become one of the staples in a new era of filmmaking within the industry. He’s developed such a singular and unique style that is unrivaled by anyone working today, and his idea of a bold, ambitious project is always interesting and worthy of your attention.
You could certainly make the case that everything said above was true after just his first movie. The Witch broke through immediately, landing as both an instant hit out of its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, as well as a lasting horror picture that spent years streaming on Netflix developing an expansive fanbase. The Witch would also become one of the first iterations of the classic A24 horror style (In Fabric, Saint Maud, Talk to Me) – a clashing of idiosyncratic visuals and a deep, unnerving sense of dread.
The Witch was also one of our first introductions to Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu, Furiosa, The Super Mario Bros Movie), who also worked with Robert Eggers on The Northman. The two seem to really understand one another’s talents, and I hope they continue to find new avenues to uncover down the road. She plays the underlying, sinister antagonist in The Witch, and the overtly humanistic side-protagonist in The Northman.
So it’s not to say that Eggers has found a way to pigeonhole her into his films – rather the sense of dread courses through both his directing style and her delivery in palpable, converging ways. Every great director seems to find a performer (or two) to rely on consistently throughout their careers. I wonder if Robert Eggers found his pretty early on in Anya Taylor-Joy (although it’s always possible that becomes true later on with another frequent collaborator like Willem Dafoe [Inside, Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness]).
But that’s something we can parse through when we return to this ranking years down the line as Eggers continues to build upon his already-daring resume. For now, here’s how I’d list the Robert Eggers movies, ranked:
4. The Witch (2015)
3. The Lighthouse (2019)
2. The Northman (2022)
If The Northman isn’t Robert Eggers’ best movie, it’s at least his boldest. It’s finetuned and pinpoint beyond what you’d expect from an already exacting director, and the stunning ensemble cast is entirely dedicated to their profound roles – all led by Alexander Skarsgård (Infinity Pool) and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Read our review of The Northman.
1. Nosferatu (2024)
Robert Eggers might already be one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Sure, it’s silly and hyperbolic to say that so early in his career, but few directors today can craft arthouse movies on the scale of his latest work, Nosferatu, and make it look so effortless. The subject matter feels like a natural progression from his earlier explorations of isolation and dread in The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman. Here, Eggers reimagines the classic vampire tale with precise, stomach-churning detail, delivering a vision that both honors the original and reinvents it as a sadistic, psychosexual nightmare.
Read our review of Nosferatu.
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