NOSFERATU (2024)

Now in theaters from Focus Features!
Directed by Robert Eggers.
Written by Robert Eggers, Henrik Galeen, Bram Stoker.
Check out the trailer here!!

A German real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) recently married to the fair Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) is sent deep into the Carpathian Mountains to get a signature from Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) who plans on moving to the city. But once Thomas arrives at his castle, Orlok reveals his true colors. He is Nosferatu, an ancient vampire, and he has Ellen in his fiendish sights!

Robert Eggers produces a very faithful adaptation of both the silent film NOSFERATU and the book it’s based on DRACULA by Bram Stoker. And it think it’s the faithfulness to not only the classic silent film, but also Verner Herzog’s 1979 NOSFERATU: THE VAMPYRE that is the reason why this film has been so divisive in the horror community. Some feel it is an overblown adaptation with too much star power and too little passion. I don’t necessarily feel that way, but I can see how the prevalence of recognizable actors might be a distraction to the story and the drama going on. I also think the use of off and on accents from some of the characters seem to make the drama feel melodramatic at times. I believe this to be intentional, as Eggers is adapting a story steeped in melodrama, especially in the case of the hysteria-addled Lily-Rose Depp, whose performance is definite detour from the regular strong female characters we have seen from Hollywood in recent years. But those silent films of old relied on over-acting in order to get the point across, so that might also be the reason why everyone feels as if they are going for the home-run Oscar to beat all Oscars in their performances.

Eggers is no Hollywood filmmaker. He takes his time getting to Orlok’s castle, establishing Thomas and Ellen’s relationship and introducing key background players like Thomas’ employer Mr. Knock (Nosferatu’s version of Renfield, played fiendishly well by Simon McBurney) and his best friend Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Also, quite a bit of time is spent pointing out the primitive nature of medical treatment at the time, specifically towards women as Ralph Ineson’s Dr. Sievers and Dafoe’s Von Franz leap to wild conclusions involving Ellen’s hysteria and menstrual cycle. These themes were not in the original, of course, but used to show the out-of-date tactics the medical profession performed at the time. And while the film also beefs up Friedrich’s role and that of his family and highlights some of the more barbaric rituals of the gypsies who warn Thomas of the castle, the biggest difference is the opening minutes suggesting that the relationship between Orlok and Ellen are more than just love at first sight. I am surprised I haven’t heard more people talk about this specific and taboo-laden detail, but it does put a bit of an edgy bite to the beginning of the tale.

Despite those changes, NOSFERATU stays pretty adherent to the classic story. The over-the-top performances aside, I felt the entire experience was a rich one. While I believe Francis Ford Coppola’s take on DRACULA was much more visually imaginative, Eggers adds some fun play with the shadows and light himself, specifically when the shadow of Orlok’s claw stretches across the landscape, spreading the plague along with it. For the most part, Eggers’ remake still manages to look visually stunning—decadent in some of the shots such as the Harding residence with its Christmas decorations and hauntingly gothic as with the labyrinthine halls of Orlok’s castle. While I’ve seen these scenes play out before numerous times as adaptations of both Henrik Galeen’s screenplay for the original NOSFERATU and of course, Bram Stoker’s version of DRACULA, Eggers’ version never felt repetitive or as if he were copying the style of anyone before him. Still, compared to his recent work, this is Eggers most widely accessible film he’s made since THE VVITCH, as it lacks the over-indulgence of THE NORTHMAN and the outlandish and off-putting nature of THE LIGHTHOUSE.

This is no perfect movie, though. Most of my criticism for it starts and ends with the performance of Count Orlok himself by Bill Skarsgård. Skarsgård is a fine actor and definitely has the chops to do a good version of Orlok, but under tons of hair and makeup and a bulky robe, Skarsgård looked more like Peter Stormare than anything else. If they decided to go the more, Vlad the Impaler-route and make the Count look that way, they could have shaved a couple of million off the budget and just gotten Stormare for a whole lot less and he most likely would have done a comparable or maybe even better job. You can’t tell if it’s Skarsgård or my Aunt Trudy under all of that makeup. Skarsgård doesn’t even make his eye go all wonky like it usually does. Yes, he is a formidable monster and the scenes of him naked or partially clothed are pretty darn creepy to down-right disgusting at times, but if you’re going to make a big deal and cast Skarsgård, I think you should let some of his face show. Just my simple opinion.

Aside from that, I do think Aaron-Taylor Johnson’s acting was more over the top than most of the rest of the cast. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen him mostly in action comedies and superhero films. I don’t know, but Johnson definitely felt like the Keanu of this shoot. Dafoe also makes a decision or two that indicates that he has become an actor who basically does whatever the hell he wants and the directors just film it. Dafoe doesn’t even attempt to use an accent. His love of cats, though seemingly weird and out of the blue, does line up with Ellen’s love of her cat who lays by her side throughout most of the movie. Dafoe’s Von Franz, like Ellen’s cat, ends up being her protector through the movie. Still, Dafoe’s over the top performance was the closest thing to being pulled out of the movie as I got.

NOSFERATU is not a popcorn flick for the masses. It’s going to be a challenging watch for the common moviegoers, dealing with issues and feelings that often don’t come up in Hollywood fare. It’s thematically heavy involving topics such as the plague, not very different from the recent pandemic, its origins from a foreign land, and unleashed with evil intent. While I feel the size and scope of the plague was much better envisioned in Herzog’s version, it is still an ever-present threat in the film. It’s emotionally heavy involving the strained love between Thomas and Ellen and an invasive challenge to their marriage in Orlok, as depicted in a very uncomfortable scene where Thomas is forced to come to terms with the connection between his wife and the monster that is not unlike the demon-cuckold scene from POSSESSION. And it’s richly brought to life with expansive gothic sets and ornate décor accurate from the time.

One of the things that I have always loved is the ending to NOSFERATU. Unlike the bombastic ending of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, the poeticism of Ellen’s sacrifice is something that feels much more suited to the horrors experienced leading up to it. While everyone seems to love Dracula, it’s interesting that so few get the ending wrong, but I do feel that Eggers nails this ending, pulling all of the plot threads of this expansive story into one beautiful sacrifice.

Egger’s NOSFERATU is an attempt to make a classic horror movie. Not one filled with jump scares, though there are quite a few legitimately scary moments. It doesn’t have a high body count, though there are some very effective and shocking kills. And not one targeted towards the teenage market like all of the Blumhouse turds dropped over the last few years. It’s a mature horror movie. I’m not saying that those who are not in love with the film are immature, but I do think that they don’t make movies like NOSTFERATU anymore and hopefully, because it was made, mature, thought provoking, and high quality horror can follow it.

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