Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Plot: A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
Review: Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a love story but it’s not the one you might be accustomed to when you think of Dracula.
Credit: Aidan Monaghan / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Taking details from the novel and a bit of inspiration from a few sources such as the original 1922 version as well as Francis Ford’s Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Eggers crafts a gothic horror the likes of which we rarely get to see in this modern age. Lily-Rose Depp plays Ellen, a woman with the gift of clairvoyance. Unknowingly in her loneliness she calls out to anyone who might hear her with an answer coming from the most terrifying of sources. Years later she meets and marries Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and while deeply in love, her nightmarish visions return with a vengeance as her undead ex-lover Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgård) pulls strings to remove Thomas from her life so he may claim her once again.
Over ten years in the making, Eggers’ passion project comes to immortal life in this tale of a vampire who refuses to take no for an answer. It features gorgeous cinematography in every shot coupled with a score and sound design that’s unlike anything he’s done before. I already have favorites such as Thomas standing at a crossroads in the woods as Orlock’s horse drawn carriage beats towards him. There’s also a moment where he stretches his hand out and his shadow covers parts of the town as it seeks out Ellen. The sounds of screams in the night as anywhere his shadowy figure falls, someone suffers from nightmares. This is truly a movie best experienced with a stellar sound system and a very dark room.
Eggers deftly balances the familiar story beats of a vampire cutting a bloody path towards the woman he demands must be his, with originality in his designs. And with his choice to stick closely to the source material (that would be the novel Dracula) as well as actual mythology and lore of vampires, he creates a version of the character unlike any we’ve seen before.
The performances by all involved are commendable but it’s Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp who stand apart, creating memorable characters who stick with you long after the story is over. While Skarsgard’s Orlock is kept mostly in shadow, he creates a voice for him that is deeply unsettling and wholly unique. While Depp had me genuinely worried for her as her physical performance (she shakes and contorts to convey moments when Orlock is invading her mind) was akin to that of Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist and I couldn’t help but wonder the emotional toll such a role took on her mentally as well.
Those familiar with Egger’s past films like The Witch knows he’s a stickler for details, of which can be both a blessing and curse. It may be nitpicking but his use of natural light to convey the period in which the story is set does make it difficult to see exactly what was happening at times. Yet it also adds to the haunting and isolated feel of the locations such as Orlock’s castle, the Harding’s home and really the entire town itself.
There’s nothing I enjoy more than a movie whose story can (and will) mean different things for different people. Count Orlock might be a metaphor for suppressed desires (Ellen calls her time with him her greatest shame) or maybe he’s a stand in for toxic masculinity as he refuses to leave Ellen alone, going as far as to threaten her loved ones if she doesn’t return to him. Ellen on the other hand suffers from being a woman in a world led by men who think they know better. Whatever your takeaway though, we can all agree that’s it’s ultimately a story of love over evil, wooden stakes and garlic be damned; it’s Ellen’s selfless love for Thomas that saves them all.
Sommer’s Score: 9 out of 10
Have you seen Nosferatu? What did you think of it? And you can sink your teeth into more vampire content below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More