The allure emanating from Count Orlok in Nosferatu goes more than decaying skin deep. And this was by design by director Robert Eggers, who discussed his choices to stray away from both the Max Schreck classic Nosferatu look and modern sexy vampires. The most appreciated contemporary vampire, Edward Cullen from Twilight, is not scary at all, Eggers told Gold Derby. So I wanted to go back to the folklore because the early Balkan and Slavic vampire lore is written by or about people who believed that vampires existed and were terrified of them. So clearly, there must be something scary there. And these early folk vampires looked like rotten corpsesmore like how we think of zombies in current cinema. So that was exciting theory. The last person who played a hot rotten corpse, ironically enough, also plays the other love interest of Nosferatus Ellen Hutterremember Nicholas Hoult in Warm Bodies? Here, hes just Thomas Hutter: regular man cuckolded by the power of centuries-old rotting rizz. Focus Features What can we say? That mustache Bill Skarsgrd really does it for us defenders of the Transylvanian Tom Selleck, who completely transformed past our expectations of what a vampire should look and sound like. In that same interview, Eggers continued, The facial hair, not everybodys a fan of. But it is, in my opinion, essential if you look at pictures of Transylvanian noblemen, if you can find one without a mustache or a beard, let me know. I suppose he could have had a beard, just as likely. But, you know, Dracula in the novel has a mustache. Vlad the Impaler had a mustache. Its a very common Eastern European facial hair style. So it felt to me that it helped him fit into that world and be a part of it more than anything. Its the historical accuracy, truly.The movie is total gothic horror edging to its inevitable succumbing to one overly dramatic dead Transylvanian noblemanwho has a penchant to make life hell for everyone around the object of his affection if he doesnt get his way. Skarsgrd shared with Esquire that the performance took its toll and that it was like conjuring pure evil. It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me. Thank the horror gods, Bill was a freak and did the work to make himself one of the best character actors on screen, proving vampires can still be sickeningly seductive without the glittery chest or luscious golden locks of his brother Alexander, who played vampire Eric in True Blood. Its playing with a sexual fetish about the power of the monster and what that appeal has to you, Bill Skarsgrd said of his take on Orlok. Hopefully youll get a little bit attracted by it and disgusted by your attraction at the same time. And on Anne Rice, I swear he and Eggers did it. Gross, swamp rat-feasting Lestat (both of them) looks like a cute chibi character in comparison to Skarsgrd. He even sounds hypnotically powerful. Seriously, the sorcery? Bill outdoes Ralph Inesons tenor intonations in a movie Ralph Ineson is in with a deep operatic voice that rattles the loins. How else can you explain the somatic trances Lily-Rose Depp performed as Ellen?Orlok is an appetite indeed. Its okay, if you squint hard enough Skarsgrds eyes permeate through the disheveled side-swoop on his infectious scabbing face. We get why Ellen bounced to death on it, the gorgeously grotesque mutually assured destruction of beauty and the beast. A tale as old as time indeed. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.