8 Crazy Horror Movie Truths We’ve Just Learned

Without doubt one of the most anticipated horror movies of the year, Robert Eggers' take on Nosferatu is a film just about every lover of frightening trips to the cinema can't wait to sink their teeth into.

All that buzz is the result of a star-studded cast, Eggers being one of the most reliable creators of unsettling stories working today, and some seriously creepy trailers for the gothic vampire tale. News of the lengths the director was willing to go to when crafting this mesmerising world has also left people wishing it was December 25 already (the film releases on Christmas Day this year in the U.S).

The director himself claimed one scene involving Willem Dafoe's Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz contained both real flames and a horrifying 2,000 live rats (via EW). But if that wasn't already impressive and crazy enough to make you want to buy a ticket, it turns out that the total number of rats actually used in the film was way bigger.

As he'd tell Deadline recently, there were in fact 5,000 (!) real rats in his film, with only those seen in the background being CGI. They were apparently "well trained", you'll be pleased to hear. However, Eggers didn't realise rats were incontinent, "so the smell is insane.”

So, just remember that whenever you see poor Dafoe and co. share the screen with their rodent co-stars in Nosferatu.