Nosferatu (2024) is Robert Eggers’s striking and tenebrous gothic horror passion project. A twenty-first century adaptation of the 1922 F. W. Murnau silent German expressionist film of the same name, Eggers’s version of the classic vampire tale pays homage to its predecessors whilst also delivering something new and in turn helping to remind modern viewers that vampires are monsters and should be feared as such.
The plot of Nosferatu is based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, the 1922 silent version changed the title and character names because of copyright reasons. Since then, Nosferatu has grown into its’ own separate entity within the vampire genre; aided by the first adaptation of Murnau’s version titled Nosferatu the Vampyre directed by Werner Herzog and released in 1979.
Eggers’s Nosferatu broadly follows the same narrative as its’ cinematic predecessors. Newly married Thomas Hutter (played by Nicholas Hoult) sets out on a long and treacherous journey to meet the strange and foreign Count Orlok at his isolated castle to secure a property deal for his firm. Thomas leaves at home his new wife Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), who is tormented by sinister dreams and episodes which are somehow connected to this unnerving Orlok figure. The film’s cast also includes Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Ineson and Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok.
The film uses its female protagonist Ellen to centre thematically on the suppression of female desire and sexuality, in the Victorian period (the film’s historical timeframe) especially. Orlok represents the consequences of this suppression of sexuality, in that he symbolizes all the guilt and shame Ellen feels towards her own sexual desires as a woman in patriarchal Victorian society.
Robert Eggers clearly did his homework because Nosferatu ticks all the boxes in terms of conventional gothic tropes and themes: societal and gender based themes, male versus female desire, sexuality (which is archetypal in pretty much all vampire fiction), science versus religion versus the supernatural, good versus evil, and of course the quintessential haunted landscapes and visual motifs – Orlok’s castle, tense dark forests, graveyards, shadows cast everywhere etc.
The cinematography is also visually spectacular and a masterclass on how to properly light night scenes – no eye squinting is necessary. The camera work and recurring use of shadows perfectly captures the sinister, eerie atmosphere which defines gothic horror. The avid feelings of distortion and uncertainty that the cinematography creates, primarily through the superb use of lighting, rapid cuts, and several near 360-degree pan shots (especially as Thomas is approaching Orlok’s castle) have a tremendous impact on the audience.
The audience is able to share in Thomas’s overwhelming confusion and terror. This technique of using camera direction and editing to show a character’s panic is a rather basic tactic of the horror genre, but one which is extremely effective when it is done well; and Eggers and his cinematographer Jarin Blaschke do so to an exceptionally high standard.
Lily-Rose Depp is excellent in Nosferatu, excelling as both a strong acting lead and an audacious cinematic heroine. The physicality that her performance required is extreme, and with no CGI to aid her with the repetitive seizures and body contortions that her character endures, Depp does an incredible job.
Nicholas Hoult is phenomenal as always. He makes the ideal devoted Victorian husband, choosing to not only stand by his wife, but actively accepting the darkness inside her and loving her in spite of it. Thank god they didn’t go ahead with Harry Styles as Thomas, if rumours are to be believed, because Hoult is one of the most talented, but underrated, actor of his generation and this addition to his body of work only emphasises that he deserves more recognition than he has.
Bill Skarsgård is truly unrecognizable as Count Orlok – genuinely if you hadn’t read the cast list beforehand you would not believe he was even in the film. Huge commandment to the makeup, prosthetics and costume departments for creating his transformative and repulsive corpse-like look, and to Bill for being able to physical transform into the demonic Orlok by completely altering his mannerisms and voice (especially his voice!).
It is apparent that all those involved took the necessary time to do their research, as they demonstrated respect for the cinematic history behind Count Orlok (and Dracula) whilst also creating an updated, truly terrorizing, historically involved version of the classic Transylvanian vampire.
Experiencing Nosferatu in IMAX in a packed cinema screening on New Year’s Day was genuinely a lifechanging experience and the film seems to have created a legacy for itself already. Plus, with the highly anticipated Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein set for release this year too, gothic horror cinema is so back.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
