There may not be a filmmaker working today who is more of a pure auteur than Robert Eggers. Known for his tedious methodology in moody period pieces like The VVitch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman, he has quickly become one of the premier filmmakers in the horror world. And that makes him the perfect choice to direct a remake of another moody period piece from 1922, Nosferatu.
Nosferatu is about a young English real estate salesman named Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) who is summoned to Transylvania to seal the deal on a patch of land that happens to be right in his own neighborhood. On his way, he is warned against continuing on his journey, and when he arrives, he sees why – his reclusive host and client, Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), is a real creep. And when Orlok arrives at his new property, the creep becomes obsessed with Thomas’ new bride, the lovely Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp).
Robert Eggers adapted his vision of Nosferatu from the original 1922 Henrik Galeen screenplay, which in turn was an illegitimate adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The narrative retells the tale pretty cleanly, with a bit of Fearless Vampire Hunting tossed into the climax to throw the audience off the scent. Nosferatu is a classic vampire flick that draws influence from everywhere within the bloodsucking subgenre. It’s an age-old story.
The visual approach to Nosferatu is, however, all Eggers. Well, him and his go-to cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (which using him is all part of Eggers’ cinematic choice, so he still gets the credit). The film’s imagery is absolutely beautiful, with meticulous attention given to the details in every shot. Every frame of the film is a cinematic masterpiece. The shadows, the light, the sets, the dressing, the angles, the lenses, nothing is left to chance, and the result is visual brilliance.
Have I gushed enough about how amazing this movie looks? Okay, good. Moving on.
Now, Eggers was able to concentrate so much on the visual imagery in his movie because he didn’t have to worry about his actors. Nosferatu is wonderfully cast. Between scoring the roles of Orlok, Pennywise, and Eric Draven, Bill Skarsgård has really taken a knack to reimagining iconic film characters. He is practically unrecognizable as Orlok, which is a testament to his transformational performance. Even with a corny bushy moustache (which is, in fact, correct for the character in the novel), Skarsgård sends chills down the sturdiest of spines.
Nicholas Hoult is a great foil for the count, if you can call him that, since he’s really more of a straight man to Orlok’s menacing presence. The real hero(ine) of Nosferatu in any form is the blushing bride, Ellen, and Lily-Rose Depp is up for the task of playing spoiler to Orlok’s schemes. Willem Dafoe, as the vampire expert, Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, is the clown – he’s having a ton of fun in a not-necessarily-fun movie, yet somehow, it works. He’s not really there for comic relief, he’s more of a plot distraction really, but that seems to be the point of the character. He leads the men on a stab-it-and-burn-it mission while Ellen handles the heavy lifting.
Not everyone enjoys the films of Robert Eggers, and his detractors will find fault with Nosferatu as well. It’s got the pitch-perfect accents, the stuffy dialogue, and the air of pretension that usually accompanies period movies. But that’s all par for the course when dealing with the stories that Eggers chooses to tell and the eras in which they are set. And he does it better in Nosferatu than, say, Francis Ford Coppola did with Dracula (not a knock on Coppola so much as a massive compliment to Eggers). So, those who have trouble with heavy dialect, flip on those subtitles so you can still get scared by Skarsgård’s Orlok.
And the movie is scary. Although there are a handful of great BOO! moments, the whole thing, much like Eggers’ other movies, relies more on a heavy atmosphere of dread and darkness than it does on jump scares. That darkness goes beyond the stunning imagery, too. It bleeds down into the depths of the characters and emanates from every word and gesture. The darkness comes from the original story, and Robert Eggers takes it and runs. Nosferatu is an updated take on a classic movie that still manages to feel classic.
Nosferatu is awards-worthy horror. This is the movie that, if it doesn’t get any Oscar nominations, horror fans will complain about not getting any Oscar nominations. And they will be right. Have I mentioned how gorgeous this film looks?
GRADE: A
MPAA Rating: R for some sexual content, graphic nudity, and bloody violent content
Running Time: 2 hours 13 minutes
Release Date: December 25, 2024
Studio: Focus Features
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