Led by: Robert Eggers
Written by: Robert Eggers; Based on the 1922 film, Nosferatuby Henrik Galeen; Inspired by the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker
Duration: 132 minutes
MPA rating: Rated R for bloody violent content, graphic nudity and some sexual content.

Nicholas Hoult – Thomas Hütter
Lily Rose Depp – Ellen Hutter
Bill Skarsgard – Count Orlok
Aaron Taylor Johnson – Frederick Harding
Willem Dafoe – Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz
Emma Corin –Anna Harding
Ralph Ineson – Dr. Wilhelm Sievers
Simon McBurney – Knock

Visionary filmmaker Robert Eggers creates a tale of pure gothic horror in his new update of the classic, groundbreaking vampire tale. Nosferatu. Eggers’ new film is a remake of the classic 1922 silent film, which was itself an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s film Dracula Novel. Eggers’ new cinematic vision takes on the menacing fear of vampirism and presents the legendary Count Orlok as something utterly terrifying, mystifying, overwhelming and malevolent.

In 1838, in the town of Wisborg, Germany, a young, newly married real estate agent, Thomas Hutter (Hoult), is hired to travel to Transylvania to close a deal with a client, the elderly and supposedly infirm Count Orlok (Skarsgård) . Thomas leaves despite the pleas and fears of his new, young bride, Ellen (Depp), who still dreams that a dark, malevolent figure wants to possess her. Thomas does not realize that he has been captured by his crazy boss, Mr. Knock (McBurney), a devoted servant of the evil, mysterious Count Orlok (Skarsgård). As Thomas gets closer and closer to the clutches of Count Orlok, Ellen’s fears increase and take the form of terrible visions. However, Ellen’s dreams are more than just tangible premonitions, as the cunning Count Orlok attempts to bind and enslave Ellen in mind, body and soul.

Ellen’s visions are initially dismissed as childish flights of fancy and hysteria, but her condition eventually worsens when Thomas becomes Orlok’s unsuspecting prey. Your doctor, Dr. Wilhelm Sievers (Ineson), eventually seeks the expertise of one of his former teachers, Prof. Albin Ebenhart Von Franz (Dafoe), a leading expert in the field of scientific medicine who has recently been ostracized within their ranks due to his obsession with the occult . Von Franz recognizes Ellen’s grief for what it really is. She is a victim of the vampire “Nosferatu”. When Count Orlok invades Wisborg, he brings his terrible malevolence with him and will stop at nothing until he obtains his prey.

Eggers’ Nosferatu tackles the horror that surrounds a traditional, old-fashioned vampire story. He restores Count Orlok as a being of pure terror. When Orlok first appears, he is slightly out of focus and obscured. The character represents an entity of psychological fear. Orlok is so overpowering and evil that his image is nearly impossible to capture. In its physical form, Eggers’ Orlok seems more like a waking nightmare. By portraying Orlok in this way, Eggers effectively recreates the mythic, sinister threat of the character.

Orlok is not a tragic anti-hero or a charismatic, romantic leader. Robert Eggers’ Count Orlok is a malevolent creature with base, ravenous desires. He is no less dominant or seductive than other popular depictions of Dracula, but this Dracula stand-in has no redeeming qualities. In many ways, Eggers’ portrayal and Bill Skarsgård’s masterful performance are reminiscent of the literary depiction of Dracula from Bram Stoker’s original text. Eggers’ version of Count Orlok appears to be the most original and faithful representation of Bram Stoker’s iconic creation, even though it is technically an adaptation of the 1922 silent film classic Nosferatu Director: FW Murnau.

Skarsgård looks completely unrecognizable and unrecognizable as the clever count. The actor creates an incredible performance that taps into the psychological fear and terror that comes with becoming prey to such a horrific creature. Skarsgård’s acting, along with Eggers’ astonishing direction and Jarin Blaschke’s incredible cinematography, deliver the most primal, elemental and terrifying cinematic portrayal of a vampiric villain in recent history.

Lily-Rose Depp delivers an extraordinary performance as Count Orlok’s unwilling victim. Depp devotes herself fully to the material, portraying the all-encompassing fear her character faces and her continued courage to face the terror that has haunted her for years. It’s a challenging performance and Depp shows her acting talent and plays her scenes with real sincerity and credibility.

Similarly, Nicholas Hoult delivers a strong, earnest performance as Orlok’s unsuspecting victim Thomas Hutter. A significant portion of the film’s narrative unfolds primarily from his perspective, in which Eggers positions Thomas as an unenviable stand-in for the audience as the character falls into Count Orlok’s servitude. The fear Orlok inspires in Thomas bleeds through the screen, making the fearful flesh even juicier for Orlok to swell.

Willem Dafoe is delightful as Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz, the story’s stand-in for Van Helsing. Nosferatu Interestingly, it plays with ideas of modernity and progress with old world superstitions and cultural traditions. Count Orlok’s dark treachery cannot be dealt with by modern science alone. In one of the film’s best lines, Von Franz declares, “I have seen things in this world that would have made Isaac Newton crawl back into his mother’s womb!” We are not so much enlightened as blinded by the gaseous light of science ! I have wrestled with the devil as Jacob wrestled with the angel at Peniel, and I tell you, if we want to tame the darkness, we must first confront its existence!”

Before anyone labels Eggers a Luddite or anti-intellectual, it is important to note that Von Franz is not anti-science, anti-modernity, or anti-intellectualism. The figure conveys the existence of creatures and beings that modern science and progress cannot understand. Not to mention, many of Ellen’s real fears are dismissed as immature fantasies or flights of fancy. Dafoe brings an appealing, idiosyncratic wisdom as Prof. von Franz and does a great job of driving the narrative along once he defines the threat that Count Orlok poses to Ellen.

The main area Eggers could have improved is the love story between Thomas and Ellen. The psychological, primal horror of Orlok comes across perfectly, but the love story would have benefited from some improvement. Additionally, Orlok’s victims could have been given more agency. Still, Simon McBurney is great as Orlok’s crazy, exuberant servant, Mr. Knock. McBurney plays the Renfield-like role with aplomb.

Eggers is once again working with his long-time collaborator Jarin Blaschke Nosferatuand her visual work is a match made in heaven. Nosferatu looks absolutely great. They shoot the film so flawlessly and meticulously that every single frame from the film could be taken out and framed in a museum or gallery, looking like pure film art. The way they capture the mood and horror of each stage play is amazing. Not only is Blaschke’s cinematography and use of shadows and silhouettes brilliant, but the way he lights each scene looks fantastic. The lighting inside Nosferatu captures the mood of each scene perfectly. Blaschke’s method of filming Count Orlok heightens the character’s ominous terror, and he initially appears distorted and obscured, like a nightmarish phantom. The film almost assumes that looking directly at Count Orlok would likely result in some level of madness or grisly doom.

Eggers triumphs too Nosferatu in his depiction of Gothic horror, he finds a strange, beautiful purity in his macabre material. He brings horrific terror back to the oft-used vampire myth and portrays Count Orlok as a nightmarish creature on screen. Eggers combines the classic traditions of Gothic horror with a modern cinematic sensibility that works wonderfully together. Nosferatu creates genuine terror and terror in a way that many horror films have forgotten.