‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Fans Flock to See ‘Nosferatu’ in Honor of the Vampire’s Recurring Appearances on the Show
Though Nosferatu may not have been on the bus or the phone during the Krusty Krab’s inaugural 24-hour shift, he’s found another calling beyond stoking SpongeBob SquarePants’ fears of the Hash Slinging Slasher: entertaining fans of the cartoon on Christmas Day.
Ahead of the release of Nosferatu, a remake of the 1922 German expressionist film, on December 25th, SpongeBob fans headed to Reddit to share their excitement to see the beloved Nickelodeon side character beyond the confines of Bikini Bottom.
“If the lights don’t flicker, at the end I’m going to shout at the top of my lungs: ‘NOSFERATU,’” wrote Redditor megosonic.
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“It’ll be the best spin-off of SpongeBob after Stephen Hillenburg’s death,” predicted gameboy2330.
Though most famed as a fearsome silent-film baddie, Nosferatu has appeared as a recurring character in the SpongeBob SquarePants cinematic universe in recent years. After attending Kamp Koral and befriending the Bikini Bottom gang, Nosferatu signed on as the Krusty Krab’s night-shift manager, as seen during his light-flickering first appearance in Season Two’s “Graveyard Shift.”
Considering Nosferatu’s unexpected side hustle, old-school horror fans likely didn’t expect SpongeBob devotees to flock to theaters for Nosferatu like hungry anchovies to the Krusty Krab. The same, however, probably couldn’t be said of director Robert Eggers, who not only acknowledged Nosferatu’s role in the beloved animated series but also took care to thank Nickelodeon’s overlords for familiarizing younger generations with the classic villain.
“There was a show called Muppet Babies when I was a kid that would play little clips of Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera and early versions of Cyrano de Bergerac and stuff,” Eggers told The Hollywood Reporter of Nosferatu’s recurring role in SpongeBob. “That weird cartoon gave me exposure to a lot of movies that I watched when I was a little older with memories from Muppet Babies. So, thanks SpongeBob.”
Nosferatu — taking bites out of Krabby Patties and completely new audiences all at the same time.
