Nosferatu has a lot to live up to. First, it’s a remake of a film already made twice, in the form of 1922’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror and 1979’s Nosferatu the Vampyre. Second, it’s an adaptataion of Bram Stoker‘s classic gothic novel Dracula, which has been adapted hundreds if not thousands of times over the last century, as films, comics and games. Third, it’s the newest film from auteur director Robert Eggers, whose previous three films all recieved critical acclaim. Nosferatu could’ve been the film to break that streak, and buckle under the pressure, but it wasn’t. The pressure turned this film into a diamond instead – a pure gothic nightmare put to the silver screen, potentially one of the best adaptations of Dracula ever created, and a horrifying, sensual masterpiece.
Nosferatu had a long and varied road to the screen. Initially announced in 2015, before funding fell through and the project was cancelled. Eggers returned to the project after his 2022 film The Northman with renewed passion and support, which leads us to today. For the sake of review, Nosferatu is based on the 1922 film , which was based on the 1897 novel Dracula. This film takes elements of the original Dracula text that weren’t in the 1922 film, which lacked the permission of Stoker’s estate. Thus, in this review, Nosferatu will mainly be looked at through the lens of adapting both Dracula and the original 1922 film. The film definitely takes from both.
There is a twist in focus that changes this film from a direct adaptation of the original into new territory – it explicitly focuses on the main female character of the story, Ellen Hutter. When she was a child, Ellen was visited by a monster – an encounter which left her elated, pleasured, and traumatised. She’s a somnabulist (sleepwalker, in our modern terminology) and has been haunted by this monster ever since. What the audience knows, of course, is that he’s an immortal vampire, Count Orlok. He’s back, and he wants Ellen to belong to him for eternity. She fights to stop him, and save the life of her husband, Thomas. This explicit change in focus adds so many layers to the narrative, exploring how mental illness was treated in the 19th century, especially in relation to women. It’s a great way of updating the story for the modern day, while it effectively remains structurally identical to the original.
The star-studded cast here is rock solid across the board. Nicholas Hoult fits the shoes of a scream king well, giving nuance and depth to Thomas Hutter, who will often go prolonged periods of time without much presence or dialogue. He’s a broken but good man in a narrative full of flawed individuals, and Hoult plays the role perfectly. Aaron Taylor Johnson and Emma Corrin are great in supporting roles as the Harding family, with their subplot venturing into incredibly dark and unsettling places not necesarily existent in the original source material but handled very well. Ralph Ineson is great as the supporting Doctor Sivers, but the real scene stealer out of the supporting cast is Willem Dafoe as Von Franz, the madman occult expert fulfilling the role of Van Helsing in this film. His character feels lived in, entertaining and unpredictable, and is one of the most memorable parts of the movie. He adds some much needed levity to what is a tragic and dark story, and is sure to go down as a fan favorite interpretation of the character.
Out of the cast, the highlight is Lily Rose-Depp, who plays Ellen Hutter. Depp commits to the role, physically and emotionally accompanying her along every step of her journey and becoming completely transformative in the process. Without her, the film wouldn’t work nearly as well, for she is in every sense the beating heart of the narrative. Rose-Depp does a perfect job with every emotional beat, twist and turn, and after a point you stop seeing the actor and just see the character, which is one of the highest praises I can give an actor. The scenes of her having seizures are riveting but difficult to watch, her body contorting and reacting in the most unsettling and realistic ways. The climax of the film revolves entirely around Ellen’s complex emotional state, and Rose-Depp does the impossible task of walking the tightrope while running the emotional gauntlet. If the Academy Awards recognised horror films more, they should recognise her performance. It’s simply that good.
Count Orlok, the beastly vampire at the centre of this story, is played by an unrecognisable Bill Skarsgård. Much of the online discussion around this film has been about his appearence, which will be touched upon later, but on a performance level he does a great job. Skarsgård has given many incredible horror performances, but this is easily one of his best. The voice he musters up for the character is ridiculously memorable, with a haunting death rattle-like quality that will stick with you long after the film. Many, many actors have embodied Count Dracula before, and two very incredible performances define the role of Count Orlok, but he adds a unique and visceral flavour to the character. Charismatic, yet also disgusting. You can’t stand when he’s on screen, but you can’t stop watching, and he’s one of the scariest vampires put to screen in years.
The experience of women in the 19th century is at the core of this film. It’s a true gothic narrative, filled with violent and macabre depictions of what love can do to a person (especially in the case of the Harding couple), as well as the blurring of boundaries between attraction and repulsion and love. I saw the film as an exploration of what happens when men in power, reflective of larger society, do not listen to women about their emotions and experiences. There are very visceral and clear parallels between Orlok’s behaviour and sexual assault, and throughout the film Ellen is treated as nonsensical and unbelievable even if she’s correct. It is only when Von Franz genuinely trusts her can progress against the threat truly be made. Very real medical beliefs of the 19th century are practiced on Ellen, including the process of binding, drugging and bloodletting. Eggers brings this story into the modern day by exploring the perspective of a woman during the time period the film is set in, and it’s deeply refreshing and handled with profound empathy and care. One could write a whole essay on Orlok’s presentation, his relationship with Ellen, but at the core of the film is Ellen’s agency to make her own choices, which are entirely left up to the interpretation of the audience. The magic of art is that no one can decide an interpretation for you, and this was just my one. Orlok is a predator, the men around Ellen abuse, victimise and ignore her, and only when she is able to have her own agency is she able to truly fight back against the beast.
On a technical level, this film is perfect. That’s not a word to use lightly, but this film truly is wondrous at every technical element of film. It’s harrowingly well edited, gorgeously shot and the production design, including both sets and costumes, is incredible. Care has been put into every single detail of every shot, allowing the film to be completely and totally immersive from start to finish. Every visual effect is done incredibly well and the film just looks and sounds superb. Eggers has a background in production design that shows, and his attention to detail pays off in his best looking film yet. Not a single cent of that budget was wasted. There are wonderfully well done shots every few minutes, and the final scene of this film is one I am unlikely to forget anytime soon. It’s the perfect type of movie to see on the big screen, and feels as if it totally uses that and harnesses it to the best of its ability.
Eggers is known for his faithfulness to real world historical detail and folklore. That’s no different here. 19th century Germany is faithfully and painfully recreated in detail, as is Romania of the same time. Cultural practices are respected, and traditional folklore about vampires from the Carpathian region is reintroduced. That might alienate those who don’t know that vampires are traditionally practitioners of the dark arts revived as walking corpses, but it works in the films favour. By taking the oldest possible traditions about vampires, ones which have been left mostly unexplored in film, Eggers and company create something new and exciting. Orlok’s appearence is the closest to what I imagined he looked like in the novel, a necrotic bag of flesh that was once a Romanian nobleman. Even the language and terminology used, such as ‘ether’, ‘vampyre’, or ‘alchemy’ is accurate across the board and made this gothic history buff incredibly happy. The Count even speaks in Dacian, an extinct language from the Carpathian region. That’s just plain awesome. By taking this attention to historical detail and mixing it with the new thematic focus, Eggers creates a truly new take on Dracula.
Nosferatu is a sight to behold. Robert Eggers is operating at the height of his powers here, utilising his incredible knowledge of history, folklore and the filmmaking craft to create a beautiful nightmare of a film. The cast is fantastic around the board, glued together by an absolutely stellar performance from Lily Rose-Depp, and the film will completely consume you as you watch it. It’s a testament to how strong the film is that it makes a well-worn story and genre feel new and exciting again, and it all comes together into one incredibly well made and compelling film that is an essential watch for anyone curious. The film’s mainstream success is a massive indication of its quality, because it’s just as weird and dark and haunting as Eggers’ other films, it’s just so fantastic that it pushes against any boundaries put on it. Go see it in cinemas and bathe in the gothic nightmare that is Nosferatu, a sensual, terrifying masterpiece and total work of art. Succumb to the darkness.
