The Tell-Tale Heart (2008)

If you’re intrigued and want to dip your toes into Eggers’ early-career work but can’t be bothered to track down and take the plunge on all three of his obscure shorts, we suggest you stick to this 2008 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s famous short novel of the same name, about a young servant (Carrington Vilmont) murdering his bedridden elder employer in cold blood after becoming increasingly fed up with his monotonous job.

Clocking in at twenty-odd minutes and shot in an abandoned 19th-century New Hampshire manor throughout eight months of production, “The Tell-Tale Heart” marked the first collaboration between Eggers and DP Jarin Blaschke (who’d go on to shoot all four of his feature-length films from “The Witch” to “Nosferatu”). By all accounts, it stands as the first true sign that suggested they were on the path to become one of Hollywood’s most formidable creative duos.

Until recently, your only hope to see the whole thing for yourself was to lay hands on one of its extremely-rare DVD copies floating around on eBay, as it remained completely unavailable online until finally resurfacing in 2022 on the heels of “The Northman” theatrical release. Eggers’ sure-handed direction, unsettling use of puppetry and keen eye for period detail keeps you engaged from start to finish and easily outbalances the occasional dull stretches of the story.