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But what is it like to direct live rats?
Most of the rats used in this film are brown rats the most common breed in the film world.
They were housed at one of Fauna Films facilities.
As for why live rats are worth the effort over their always compliant CGI brethren?
It really makes the experience from seeing the film feel more real and immersive, the Bareses said.
In some more populated shots, CG scans of living, breathing rats helped fill the background.
In most cases, the rats were trained to enter and leave on cue.
Theyre also prolific poop machines.
Because of this, as one might imagine, outdoor scenes became easier to film than indoor scenes.
Outside, you really couldnt smell it unless you got real close, the Bareses said.
You could really smell the strong odor of ammonia in the room.
Still, some actors had to get more up close and personal than others.
Still, Corrin powered through, delivering one of the most intense and spine-tingling moments in the film.
Rats are talented improvisers.Just like humans, rats sometimes want to steal the show.
In one scene, Bill Skarsgard had to lay in a closed coffin snuggled up against some 30 rats.
How do you motivate 2,000 rats?
Thankfully, ratsalsolove to run and hide in dark places.
The races to the rat houses revealed that some rodents on set were more motivated than others.
In certain scenes, the trainers had to bench these ladies to maintain a uniform speed onscreen.
As for how they knew who was who?
They labeled some of the rats underneath their tails for easy identification.
Rat safety meetings are crucial.The key to rat safety on theNosferatuset?
The trainers held meetings during preproduction to ensure theyd accounted for all necessary safety precautions.
The director even provided storyboards for the team to follow an extra collaborative step that made their jobs easier.
Scenes were rehearsed days before shooting, so the trainers knew exactly what the setup would look like.
When working with the rats, we always kept minimum crew on set, the Bareses said.
Only cast members and handlers were allowed to enter areas with rats.
Rats naturally run alongside walls, where they feel safer, said the Bareses.
So they were taught to run in open spaces first.
One rat will never take the lead of the rest of the group, the Bareses said.
But one rat can easily stop a whole army of rats for no reason at all.
Only thing we could do is to take the rat out and retry.
