Movie Review: ‘Nosferatu’

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Review by James Lindorf

After his breakout with A24’s “The VVitch,” writer and director Robert Eggers formed a successful relationship with Focus Features. Their second film is a visually stunning remake of a 102-year-old silent film that proved harder to kill than its antagonist. Starring Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim, and Greta Schröder, the original “Nosferatu” is a German Expressionist horror film by director F.W. Murnau. It was also an unofficial retelling of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula that led to a lawsuit and a judge ruling that all copies of the film were to be destroyed. Most of them were, but a few survived to be painstakingly restored into the classic it is now regarded. Now Eggers is bringing us a vibrant, non-silent version of this vampire classic on Christmas Day.

“Nosferatu” follows Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), who is tasked with traveling to Transylvania to acquire the signature of the reclusive Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). While trying to fulfill the task, Hutter learns that Orlok is infatuated with his wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), and a vampire. Ellen has been tormented at a distance by this bringer of plagues, suffering night terrors, bouts of sleepwalking, and seizures since she was a teen. With Thomas away and Orlok’s plan in motion, her symptoms worsen to the point where there may be nothing left of the woman for Thomas to return home to. The only hope is for Thomas to work with his best friend Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Ellen’s doctor Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson), and disgraced professor Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe) to stop the demonic force of nature.

Master of Horror is a title thrown around a lot more often than deserved, but it is an accurate description of Eggers. Not because his films will always leave us cowering under a blanket with our hands over our ears. But because he masterfully explores the parts of our psyches that terrify us: grief, despair, loneliness, regret, lust, emotions that can overwhelm and drive us to make terrible decisions. This holds for “Nosferatu” as a young Ellen whose desire for a life of excitement would become her greatest regret as it lures the lustful Orlok to her. Driving her into isolation, loneliness, and despair until Thomas entered her life, silencing her fears and giving her the love and hope she now coveted.

“Nosferatu” is a visual triumph on every level thanks to Eggers, Craig Lathrop (Production Design), Paul Ghirardani (Art Direction Supervisor), Linda Muir (Costume Design), Beatrice BrentnerovA (Set Decoration), Jarin Blaschke (Cinematography) and many more. You can expect to hear many of those names mentioned during awards season and at least a few wins. There are two images from this year that will stick with me more than any others. The first is the smoking ice cream truck from “I Saw the TV Glow.” The second is from “Nosferatu,” where Thomas, on his way to the castle is surrounded by the velvety blackness of the woods and approaches a moonlight crossroad. The scene is beautifully composed from a visual and figurative standpoint. The contrast in colors and the fact that the roads form an inverted cross are all stunning, and it represents what all crossroads do: an option to do something different. He could return home, choose a new adventure to the left or the right, or he can continue to push forward to face his doom in the pursuit of money and a partnership in his company. The poster they chose is excellent and more fitting to the film’s subject matter, but if they release this image as a print, I would be sorely tempted to buy it.

The second component of the film worthy of praise is the acting. Lily-Rose Depp has the least screen time among the ensemble, but she is the shining light because more is asked of her in those moments than the others combined. She gives a tremendous emotional and physical performance from beginning to end. Skarsgård is unrecognizable as Orlok not just because of the physical transformation of the prosthetics but for another wonderful performance. However, this design of Orlok contains the only shortcoming of the art direction. Coming out only a week after the latest Sonic film, you can’t help but draw comparisons between Orlok and Dr. Robotnik. Perhaps it is because they both have Slavic roots, but they are rocking the same obnoxious walrus mustache, and it is distracting.

“Nosferatu” is a collection of beautiful, well-acted scenes that do more to set a mood and build tension than they do to release it. It has very little to offer plot-wise than the 102-year-old film and is just as light on scares. It is a film that needs to be seen on the big screen if you have the ability and desire to do so, but it feels a bit predestined and anticlimactic. Orlok has such a small role and simple desires that he doesn’t feel like a threat to the larger world; he is simply Mr. Steal Your Girl to Thomas, and there might be some collateral damage. This lack of escalation and evolution hurt the film’s final score, bringing it down to a 4 out of 5.

Genre: Horror
Rating: R (Graphic Nudity|Bloody Violent Content|Some Sexual Content)
Director: Robert Eggers
Producer: Jeff Robinov, John Graham, Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Robert Eggers
Screenwriter: Robert Eggers
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Studio 8, Birch Hill Road Entertainment, Maiden Voyage Pictures
Release Date (Theaters): December 25th, 2024
Runtime: 2h 13m