5000 rats in one scene! How was this crazy moment filmed in Nosferatu?

There is no Nosferatu movie without a rat scene. They celebrate the arrival of the beast in the city and the spread of the plague. In the latest version to date, by Robert Eggers, the team has outdone themselves by importing over 5,000 rats! “The number continues to growlaughs the director in an interview with AlloCiné. I think I heard Nicholas Hoult say it was 8,000.”

The filmmaker says that only 200 of them were trained for the needs of the film. “But you need a lot of rats to create a mass effect“The result on the big screen is impressive and sure to send shivers down your spine.

Robert Eggers continues:Many shots feature real rats, however in the chapel scene we put a thousand rats in the foreground of the shot and added rats in the background using 3D scanning.“This technique is also used for the sets, real houses were built a few meters away, but the street extension was created with digital effects.

For the director, the presence of rats also makes the historical reconstruction more realistic. However, this usage is not to everyone’s taste. Animal rights group PETA protested the film’s production, accusing it of perpetuating stereotypes about rats.

Wrath of PETA

“In real life, a rat is no more likely to injure or kill a human than a vampire– writes in the organization The press release is available on the website. Misrepresenting these animals as harbingers of death robs viewers of seeing them as intelligent, social, and loving individuals..”

PETA adds:The only “harmful” moviegoers need to worry about are the filmmakers who subject animals to the chaos and confusion of their movies, and PETA encourages everyone to see beyond these shameful stereotypes and give them the respect they deserve..”

Don’t worry: end credits Nosferatu He recalls that no animals were harmed during the filming.

Comments collected by Megan Choquette in Paris on December 6, 2024.

You can see Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu in the cinema