In 1922, during the silent era of cinema, F.W. Murnau revealed his German-expressionist take on the story of Dracula. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror initially received moderately positive reviews; however, it would eventually become a legendary horror classic. In 1979, German filmmaker Werner Herzog released Nosferatu the Vampyre, a mostly faithful retelling of the Dracula story that drew some inspiration from Murnau’s movie. In developing the Count’s character, Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski bring shades of melancholy and loneliness to the vampire while maintaining the horror elements.
In 2024, filmmaker Robert Eggers (The VVItch, The Lighthouse, The Northman) brings his dark, creepy style to retell the story of Count Orlock/Dracula’s story, wanting to impact his audiences with fright and dread. The result is a bleak, atmospheric movie that visually looks incredible and sounds fantastic. Storywise, Eggers remains strictly faithful to the original story and delivers very few surprises. Aesthetically, it is a remarkable presentation of the story, but the story remains the same.
In the 1800s, real estate salesman, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) gets assigned the daunting task of traveling to Transylvania to finalize the purchase of an old property with one Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Very old, creepy, and intimidating, Orlok notices a picture of Hutter’s wife, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), becoming enamored and obsessed with her. When it becomes clear that Orlok intends to harm him and seek out his wife, he attempts to escape the castle. Meanwhile, Ellen begins experiencing some unexplained, dreamlike phenomena that foreshadow the coming of Orlok to take her.
Though the story plays out as expected, I still found myself captivated and riveted by the film’s incredible visuals. The cinematography by Jarin Blaschke and the use of black and white and bleak coloring lend to the feeling of darkness, dread, and evil. The score by Robin Carolan also builds up the chilling horror in the movie. The whole experience is theatrical and bombastic at times, but this vibe works for this story.
Lending to the theatrics are the performances by Bill Skarsgård who is truly menacing as the vampire Count Orlok, Lily-Rose Depp, who delivers the frenzy and physical gyrations of a woman possessed, as Ellen Hutter, and Willem Dafoe who is an absolute joy to watch as the “mad scientist” Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz, an expert in the paranormal and the occult. Though their performances are more toned down, I also feel like the acting of Nicolas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Friedrich Harding), and Emma Corrin (Anna Harding) keep this wild affair more grounded in reality. I also enjoyed the turns by Ralph Inneson, who portrays Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, and Simon McBurney, who dials up his performance to “11” in his portrayal of Herr Knock, the Renfield of this story.
Though this is probably my least favorite movie by Eggers, I still enjoyed it. He is the perfect modern horror filmmaker working today to adapt this story. I would have preferred more surprises, changes, or some subversions to the original story, but that’s okay. Eggers loves every aspect of the source material and brings it to life with flair and thrills. Nosferatu opens in theaters on Christmas Day.