Succumb to the darkness.
Nosferatu is a 2024 horror film directed by Robert Eggers, written by Robert Eggers, produced by Maiden Voyage Pictures, Studio 8, and Birch Hill Road Entertainment, and distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures. It a remake of F.W. Murnau's 1922 film of the same name, which, in turn, is based off of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. It stars Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp.
"I am an appetite. Nothing more." - Count Orlok
Plot
Young estate agent Thomas Hutter travels to Transylvania to meet up with the enigmatic Count Orlok. Back in Germany, Hutter's wife, Ellen, is suffering from horrifying nightmares that reveal an awful secret that connects to the mysterious count.
The Sweet
I have very mixed feelings on Robert Eggers.
I have seen half of The Witch and then all of The Northman and The Lighthouse, which is interesting, because I actually really liked The Witch but never finished it. Eggers is really good at crafting these interesting visual experiences with unique dialogue and immaculate production, but I find his style and craft to be much more interesting than his actual stories. Both The Lighthouse and The Northman were severely lacking on the story front for me, but Nosferatu is an adaptation of Dracula, so I expected this to have a bit more story focus.
And I was correct. Nosferatu seems like Eggers's most mainstream piece, but it also retains his signature eerie style. He is so good at creating this haunting, dreamlike landscapes that feel both terrifying and irresistible. There is so much visual poetry here. He is so good at using shadows and darkness to make you feel so unsettled. I just love the way that he visualizes his stories, and Nosferatu is no different.
This is also a really good blend of both the original Nosferatu from the 20s and Bram Stoker's Dracula novel. I have read Dracula and have seen clips and know the general story of the original Nosferatu, and I loved the way that this film drew from both. It adds the elements of Dracula that the 1920s Nosferatu was missing while also sticking closer to the Nosferatu story than the Dracula story.
Nosferatu also does not shy away from showing some really, really disturbing stuff, and I appreciate that. So many Dracula adaptations feel like they skimp out on the violence and present Dracula as more of a looming threat and presence than an actual creature feasting on the blood of living humans. Nosferatu gives you some horrifying blood-sucking front and center, and it is disturbing. But I really, really appreciated that they actually showed it.
It goes without saying, but the cast here is just top-notch. Bill Skarsgård is basically just the primary horror monster actor at this point, and he does a great job as Count Orlok. I have some problems with the actual character, but Skarsgård is incredibly imposing as the titular vampire. Lily-Rose Depp is the other standout here. She is the tortured soul that Orlok is going after, and she is almost as creepy as Skarsgård is. You see the physical and emotional toll that this experience is causing her, and that is all conveyed through a truly terrific performance. The supporting cast, from Nicholas Hoult to Willem Dafoe, are also great, but they definitely are not as standout as Skarsgård and Depp.
I also loved the period piece aspect of Nosferatu. Robert Eggers is yet to make a movie set after 1900, and I think that's a good thing, because he is really good at putting the audience in a time and place and making it feel authentic. Dracula also takes place in the Victorian era, so this was the perfect story for Eggers to tackle. The dialogue, costumes, sets...all of it feels so very much like 19th century Germany. It is just so immersive. I am always impressed how well Eggers is able to capture these time periods.
The Sour
One of my principal problems with Nosferatu is a problem I have with a lot of Dracula adaptations; it is way too sexual.
I am not sure where this seductive, sexual idea of Dracula came from, because it is basically absent from the book and definitely absent from the classic 1931 adaptation. Coppola's version is incredibly erotic. Other iterations have been very erotic. Nosferatu is not nearly as erotic as Coppola's Dracula, but there's a clear sexual undertone that I just really, really hate. It's especially uncomfortable here because the sexual parts are really violent and disturbing. Dracula is a disturbing, unsettling story, but on-screen vampire rape feels like it is crossing a line.
I also have to say that I was not a huge fan of the character of Count Orlok. Skarsgård is not the problem; he's great, but Orlok felt like he wasn't a great alternate version of Dracula. He lacks any of the mystery or charm that Dracula has. From his appearance, you can tell that he is an awful person. He isn't conniving or clever. He just kind of feels like a monster that the main characters need to stop. His connection with Lily-Rose Depp was the only real character aspect they gave him, so it just made him a bit uninteresting and honestly generic. If not for Skarsgård, I feel like this version of Count Orlok would have a pretty negative reception.
I also think that a lot of the great side characters from Dracula are a bit shortchanged here. Willem Dafoe plays Nosferatu's Van Helsing, and he is just not as cool as he is in the book or in many of the other adaptations. Emma Corrin is Nosferatu's Lucy Westenra, and her role is significantly reduced from most adaptations of the story. It felt like the movie wanted to focus so heavily on Lily-Rose Depp's connection with Count Orlok that it got rid of so many of the cool things that make Dracula's side characters so memorable.
This movie also takes a while to get going. It felt Nicholas Hoult reached Count Orlok's castle like twenty or thirty minutes into the movie, which is way too late. The first chapter of Dracula involves Jonathan Harker going to Castle Dracula. If you watch any Dracula adaptation, somebody likely visits his castle within the first five to ten minutes of the film. But Nosferatu takes its sweet time to introduce us to the count, and I really felt like it dragged out the first act of the story to an extreme, unnecessary length.
Final Thoughts and Score
Robert Eggers brings his usual impressive visuals to Nosferatu, and, despite a disappointing main vampire, the movie is effectively creepy and serves as a good adaptation of the classic Dracula story.
I am going Savory here. Age range is 17+.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)
"Nosferatu"
Fun Factor: 7.5/10
Acting: 8/10
Story: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
Quality: 8/10
Directed by Robert Eggers
Rated R for strong bloody violence, sexual content, frightening themes and images, thematic elements
Released on December 25, 2024
2 hours and 12 minutes
Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok
Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter
Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Freidrich Harding
Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz
Emma Corrin as Anna Harding
Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Seivers
Simon McBurney as Herr Knock
Comments