Nosferatu: a gripping return to gothic horror that reclaims vampires' dark allure

Movie vampires are monstrous again. After years of sparkling pretty boys, latex-bodysuited blood drinkers striking edgelord poses, predators trapped in the bodies of little girls, and the usual charismatic if poncy Anne Rice faction, vampires have an exterior to match their warped, ravenous hunger again. 

The Last Voyage of the Demeter in 2023 was a step in the right direction, but, well, that take on a single chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula ultimately proved anaemic. Even the Fright Night remake, where vampires actually appear frightening, featured a fanged Colin Farrell, who comes with “Hear me out” energy by default.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulvWqYUM8k

Filmmaker Robert Eggers’ new Nosferatu sets the bar on two fronts.

The first is couching vampires’ seductive power in a hideousness to match the twisted compulsion they trigger. The second is faithfully adapting the novel Dracula, capturing its gothic horror tone. That second point needs some clarification, of course. Nosferatu is the second remake of the 1922 German film, and the F. W. Murnau silent original was made as a no-name-brand Dracula, earning the ire of Stoker’s widow.

The point is that barring name and location changes, and the exploration of a couple of different plot beats, Nosferatu is unmistakably Dracula. Once available for home viewing, it’ll be fun to pair Eggers’s Nosferatu with a viewing of Francis Ford Coppola’s glossy Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which tackles the same story with auteur flair.

Read more: Renfield — Nicolas Cage sinks his teeth into Dracula

Desperate to provide for his loving but psychologically fragile wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), young solicitor Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) accepts the task of delivering property documents to reclusive Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) in the Carpathian Mountains.

Though the superstitious locals warn him of the dangers, Thomas soon finds himself a prisoner in the Count’s castle. Our hero escapes, but ill health delays his return to Wisborg, Germany, and in that time Orlok arrives in town via a deserted plague ship, setting his sights on Ellen, and demanding her consent or he will kill all her loved ones, like best friend Anna (Emma Corrin), and her shipping magnate husband Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter and Emma Corrin as Anna Harding in director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Friedrich Harding and Emma Corrin as Anna Harding in director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, a Focus Features release. Photo: Aidan Monaghan / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Nicholas Hoult stars as Thomas Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, a Focus Features release. Photo: Aidan Monaghan / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Adéla Hesová stars as Clara Harding and Milena Konstantinova as Louise Harding in director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

The immense amount of narrative overlap with Stoker’s novel means that Nosferatu will be lacking in surprise for viewers familiar with the source material, for the most part. That’s one of the few negatives about the film, though, along with the fact that, post-release, the movie is arguably flirting with overhype. For example, while it has its skin-crawling moments (listen for the slurping and swallowing of the vampire feedings), Nosferatu isn’t as consistently disturbing as Eggers’ name-making The Witch, despite what some will claim. 

That said, what Eggers accomplishes with his latest film — his passion project — is unquestionably impressive.

With its overwrought nature, gothic horror can easily grow tedious, but the writer-director keeps things on the right side of irritating. More importantly, Eggers demonstrates how to update a silent era film for contemporary audiences, while including visual nods to the iconic original. 

Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter and Emma Corrin as Anna Harding in Nosferatu. (Photo: Aidan Monaghan / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC)

Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

A carriage approaches Count Orlok’s castle in director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. (Photo: Focus Features)

Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Nosferatu is strikingly shot, paired with a production design that captures Germanic and Eastern Europe of the early 19th Century.

Nosferatu is pedigreed and polished looking, but far from straitlaced, with flesh (some pristine, some decayed and maggoty), violence and hot-blooded passion all on liberal display. As for performances, due to the nature of Nosferatu, the all-star cast is called on frequently to react with wide-eyed terror. Depp goes even further, occasionally slipping into a possessed state that actually manages to feel novel, and unnerve, despite the sheer number of exorcism-themed films in recent years.

There’s also an enjoyable dynamic between Hoult, Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe (as the Van Helsing equivalent) that layers on extra thematic meat. More specifically, these men of law, commerce and science dismiss Ellen and Anna’s claims of Orlok’s presence as the product of female hysteria until one of their own numbers has an encounter with the devil. Despite the band’s societal power, ultimately it’s up to the intuitive but physically fragile Ellen to save the day. 

As for the vampire in the room, Skarsgård’s Orlok is another example of how the film manages to pay tribute to its source material while offering something new but appropriate to its world.

Without giving anything away – Nosferatu’s marketing has done a very good job of keeping the Count’s appearance a surprise for audiences — the character is an imposing and unsettling figure — and Skarsgård is completely unrecognisable in the role, under a mountain of prosthetics that took six hours to apply every day. This is as far as you can get from dapper Dracula.

Horror aficionados may find that Nosferatu doesn’t have quite the emotional bite that it could have, given Eggers’ filmography. However, the film is exceptionally well made and will appeal to a wider audience. They’ll experience the moviemaker revelling in dark, disturbing sensibilities in a way that is intelligent and, most important for a century of celluloid vampires, refreshing. DM

Nosferatu was released on 25 December 2024 in North America. As of 17 January, the film is showing at select South African cinemas.

This article was first published on PFangirl.