IS THAT IT IS THE SCARIEST DRACULA MOVIE EVER MADE.”

an enormous water tank in Malta— where the director was told it was the biggest ship ever used in that location. For Øvredal, it’s a chance to directly confront some of his greatest influences, from the paterfamilias of Dracula movies, F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922), to Alien, and other tales of dread and doom. Still, the goal of the film is to stand apart.

“My hope is that it is essentially the scariest Dracula movie ever made,” Øvredal says with a faint laugh. “That’s where I would love it to land if possible. If somebody says that, I’d be very happy.”