The Enduring Allure of Monster Lore
The recent craze over Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of a powerful vampire in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and the rumblings of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein monster (played by Jacob Elordi) being hot has left fans wondering "why the monster appeal?" It’s possible that creature monsters have become more desirable than the traditional " Temu Gastons" of the internet manosphere. Fans of lore about monsters being misunderstood or harbingers of pure power have known these myths have always been alluring since tales like Persephone and Hades (which gained modern popularity thanks to Webtoon’s hit Lore Olympus), Cupid and Psyche in mythology, and more recent classics like The Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The Fascination with Count Orlok
When it comes to Count Orlok in Nosferatu, it’s been fascinating to see the fandom quickly thirst for the tall, mustache-rocking decaying corpse—preferring him over Thomas, the living suitor in the film played by Nicolas Hoult (a former hot zombie himself, in Warm Bodies). In an interview with Fangoria, Bill Skarsgård discussed why he thought Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp’s character) was torn between Orlok and Thomas, "He’s the romantic lead, isn’t he [laughs]? Yeah, it’s tricky. Is he a villain?" He continued, "Yeah, of course; I mean, he’s Nosferatu, he’s Dracula, he’s one of the most, if not the most iconic horror villain there is. But I think the script has nuances that make it more complex, more layered, in the sense that the movie is sort of a love triangle with Ellen in the middle. She’s torn between a good, stable, benevolent, loving husband and something that is very powerful, very destructive, but also very alluring to her, and you watch her being torn between these two forces."
The Complexity of Monster Lore
In Eggers’ Nosferatu, Depp’s Ellen is destined to be more than her breeder friend, whose husband constantly talks about keeping submissive and making babies while annoyed at Ellen’s supernatural awakening being a disruption. We hooted and hollered at the Willem Dafoe character’s line reading to Ellen about how in any other lifetime she’d be considered a high priestess. What’s funny is that even though Orlok is covered in grotesque prosthetic make-up, audiences quickly made him the internet’s baby girl over Thomas, who tries to side with the status quo.
The Rise of Monster Lovers
Later this year, we’re getting Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein opposite Euphoria‘s Jacob Elordi as the monster in Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated Frankenstein adaptation for Netflix. And according to io9’s recent first look, monster lovers will be happy: "[Elordi’s monster] is tall, he’s lanky, and despite being pieced together from various body parts, you can very clearly see that it’s Elordi under all the makeup. His movie star good looks clash with the horrific makeup in a way that just works. Even the signature cut across the head, a staple of every Frankenstein’s monster, is a little cooler than usual as it starts on the upper right side of his head and then swoops down closer to above his left eye."
Romancing Other Recent Hot Monsters
In the meantime, we’re pondering romancing other recent hot monsters in film who have maybe been swept under the shadow of the vampires. A special shout-out goes to Christopher Abbott’s hot girl dad in Wolf Man (which you can rent now) who showed what it means to be a true family man; he’s also pretty ripped for a father. And we have to give a mention to Tommy Dewey, who plays Melissa Barrera’s adorable grumpy beast in Your Monster (now on Max), who seductively recites Shakespeare to boot. All representing figures of raw emotion and power over peacocking toxic modern masculinity.
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