Robert Eggers is one of the few modern directors I trust to make good movies, or, at the very least, artistically captivating movies. He came out of the gate strong with The Witch and continued to impress me with The Lighthouse. The Northman was slightly disappointing to me as a Viking-style retelling of Hamlet, but it was still visually impressive and well-acted. When I learned that Eggers would be directing a remake of the classic silent film Nosferatu, I was more than ready to see his take on a gothic horror classic.

Pros

Great acting from the cast
Visually stunning and brilliant use of color or lack thereof
Great sound design that adds to the unsettling effects
Impressive makeup effects & costume design
Ominous and brooding atmosphere that doesn’t let up

Cons

Over two hours (it didn’t feel like it, at least)
Distracting moustache

Plot & Thoughts

The young Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) unwittingly makes a deal with the proverbial devil by wishing to find her true love. Without realizing the gravity of her Faustian bargain, she begins convulsing on the ground before a time jump occurs. It’s 1838 in the portion of Europe that would eventually be known as Germany—Germany didn’t form as a country until 1871, but the movie tells us it’s Germany just so the audience understands the historical period and region of the world in which the story is taking place. Ellen is now in love and engaged to a young estate agent, Thomas (Nicolas Hoult). Thomas is sent by his employer, Knock (Simon McBurney), to Transylvania to meet with Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) and secure his signature for the estate Orlok has recently purchased. Ellen warns against his travels due to a clairvoyant view of the future, but Thomas leaves anyway, and she remains at the home of their family friends. Thomas meets some scared villagers on his way to the count’s estate but is undeterred in his mission. After arriving and meeting the count, he soon learns that there is more to the count besides his hideous visage and distracting moustache. Soon, Thomas finds himself in grave danger, as do his friends back home when the evil of Orlok spreads beyond his castle.

If you’re familiar with the original story of Dracula or if you have watched the other Nosferatu films, the events that occur in Robert Eggers’ version of the tale will not come as a surprise. The story of Nosferatu mostly follows the same story beats of Dracula:

A young estate agent travels to the count’s castle, where he becomes a prisoner
The count travels to the protagonist’s homeland and begins feasting on the people there, including the hero’s friends
There is a crazed man in the hero’s homeland who obeys the orders of the vampire
The vampire ensares one of the women and eventually kills her or turns her into a vampire
A knowledgeable doctor who is into the occult is brought in to help solve the mystery and defeat the evil vampire

The stories differ mostly in the names of the characters, locations, and the vampire himself. The original Nosferatu was supposed to be called Dracula, but the Stoker estate, still very much in control of the intellectual property, did not approve of the film, so details had to be changed for copyright reasons. As a result, we get two very similar stories with distinct styles, tones, and vampires. Dracula is a far more reserved and sophisticated monster in that he’s supposed to be somewhat unassuming or physically attractive to make him more sinister in his deception. Orlok’s monstrousness is much more out in the open, hidden only beneath a thick moustache in this particular instance.

It’s a good sign when I struggle to come up with anything negative to say about a movie other than that I found the moustache slightly distracting, only because it’s not what I think of when considering Nosferatu. This movie has all the style and substance you can expect from a Robert Eggers film. Every shot is impressive in how it is framed. The use of color or the absence of it makes the sets, outfits, and characters stand out. You only have to look at a few pictures from the film to immediately see how striking it can be. The music and sound design only add to the ominous tone that is established by the striking visuals. The growing doom that all the characters feel is part of the experience, as it only seems to escalate as the film progresses. By the time Orlok reaches Germany, the fear and gloom over the cast have started to reach a fever pitch.

In addition to the visuals and tone, the acting of the cast only adds to the oppressive atmosphere and intensity on the screen. Bill Skarsgård does a tremendous job as the titular villain; Orlok is intimidating because of both his presence and his dooming voice. Willam Defoe delivers yet another amazing performance as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz. Lily-Rose Depp, while sometimes a little over the top, does a commendable job as the primary victim of Orlok’s powers by portraying Ellen as strong-willed but fearful and not always in control of her body. And Nicolas Hoult continues to impress with his unassuming charm and range. Hoult could be cast in romantic comedies as characters who Hugh Grant would have normally played in the past, but he’s also capable of an intensity in his range that makes him suitable for the horror genre.

Nosferatu grabs ahold of you and does not let go once it gets going. It takes a little time before Thomas arrives at Orlok’s castle, but the pacing does not slow down after that. I don’t wish to say much more as I would likely end up just describing individual scenes and what I liked about them. Nosferatu simply nails the gothic horror aesthetic without getting overly gory or bloody. It’s gloomy, creepy, and ominous. I love it.

TL;DR

There is not much I can say about Nosferatu other than that I really enjoyed it. The acting, direction, editing, sound, visuals, and makeup are all top-notch and deliver a gothic horror experience I didn’t realize I had been missing. When you consider how many bad vampire and Dracula movies exist, getting something as good as Eggers’ Nosferatu is a welcome reprieve. Robert Eggers is still, clearly, a director to keep an eye on for whatever movie he does next.

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