Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” is the real deal, a faithful remake of the historic silent film, a sentimental love letter to horror films as an art form, and an intense, terrifying ride that will shake even those comfortable with the genre.
You have been warned.
For everyone else, keep your hands inside the roller coaster, and make sure you’re strapped in and holding on. This will leave tooth marks.
The original 1922 silent classic of the same name by F.W. Murnau is an informal but fairly faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” As in Murnau’s film, the names of famous characters have been changed (e.g., Dracula is now Orlok, Jonathan Harker is Thomas Hutter, etc.) and the nightmarish Count is bald, bat-like, hat-wearing and looks like he’s ready to rip your throat out at any moment.
In the year 1838, Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) is a down-on-his-luck real estate agent sent to close a high-paying, can’t-lose deal with the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) at his Transylvania castle. Hutter tries to hide that he immediately realizes the danger he is in when he is in the presence of the pale-faced creature who insists that Hutter call him “Master.”
Meanwhile, Hutter’s wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) has been under Orlok’s spell for some time, but now manifests itself into fits and mania once her husband gets close to the Count. The only person who seems to know how to take on Count Orlok is the strange and haunted Professor Albin Eberhardt von Franz, played by Willem Dafoe, whose appearance in this film makes him a vampire cinema Hall of Famer.
Dafoe starred in “Shadow of the Vampire” (in which he portrayed the actor playing Orlok in the making of Murnau’s film), “Daybreakers” (2010), and “The Hunger” (1983). The latter marks one of his first film appearances.
Eggers’ film is truly shocking and impressive with Skarsgard’s performance as Orlok. In the same way that I would never have guessed it was Colin Farrell under all that makeup in “The Batman” (2022) and “The Penguin” (2024), there is no sign of Skarsgård here, just a heart-stopping embodiment of the undead. Nightmare living.
If the role had not been approved, there would have been no way to know who was underneath the stunning makeup and that horrific voice. Count Orlok makes Pennywise the Clown look like Ronald McDonald.
Skarsgard gives an amazing performance.
Beautiful, sinister, and sometimes funny, “Nosferatu” is an ode to how horror films can exploit our subconscious fears, as well as how they can feel like a beautiful nightmare. Another aspect of Eggers’ film that should be mentioned: it’s often too much.
There is little subtext or metaphorical exploration here, as Eggers is able to show what Murnau (and Werner Herzog and Francis Ford Coppola and everyone who followed him) can only suggest.
It goes too far.
The mix of sex and violence will be a challenge to some, though the bit where Simon McBurney’s Herr Knock (this film’s equivalent of Renfield) demonstrates his madness on an innocent creature is likely to be the moment you’re most desperate to get out.
If the pre-title sequence alone sounds as if Eggers’ vision is overwhelming, save yourself the trouble and abandon ship early. I’m sure there are plenty of seats left next door to “Moana 2.”
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For everyone else, Garren Blaschke’s cinematography falls somewhere between Ridley Scott’s “The Legend” (1985) and Darren Aronofsky’s “The Fountain” (2006). This is another way of saying that each shot is carefully framed, staged, and has a great look.
Rose-Depp throws herself into the role of a woman haunted by a monster her whole life, while Hoult is excellent at playing the mounting panic. Dafoe’s position on the equivalent of Van Helsing is relatively restricted.
Clearly inspired in some ways by Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) and Herzog’s remake Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979), it’s not as good as those films, but it’s still a rich expression of horror cinema on a grand scale. . As his previous work demonstrates, Eggers uses the horror genre to craft personal films, works that are confrontational, provocative, and extremely bloody.
I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Three and a half stars
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