Nosferatu

2024 has been an incredible year for horror movies. The Substance, MaXXXine, Smile 2, Alien: Romulus – these are just a few of the films released this year that have contributed to the general consensus that fans are being treated to a horror renaissance of sorts. A new passion is being injected into the genre, one that is propelling new fans into the scene left and right. Now, as the year comes to a close, Nosferatu has arrived – and it’s better than we could have ever expected.

I was skeptical about this movie’s Christmas release date at first, but having seen it for myself, I couldn’t be happier that this is the film rounding out the year for me. That’s why today, I need to talk in detail about Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu – not too much detail though! We’ll be avoiding spoilers in this review, so that you can experience this film for yourself. With that being said, we’ll be discussing a few general plot points, but nothing that isn’t common knowledge if you’re even vaguely familiar with the 1922 original. With that being said, let’s get into the review!

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The Review

Image by Focus Features

Nosferatu is the newest entry in Robert Eggers’ fairly incredible filmography. While not all of his previous films have clicked with me, when they have worked, they’ve been magnificent experiences. With that in mind, I was very excited to see Nosferatu, being a fan of the 1922 original, and confident in Eggers’ ability to remaster the horror classic in his own image. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, that signature Eggers touch is this film’s strongest component. Eggers is a master of period pieces, and Nosferatu takes the viewer and transports them to plague-infested Germany 1838, a fairly nightmarish historical landscape even prior to any vampiric activity.

Eggers’ control of this film’s atmosphere is absolutely incredible. The film is overwhelmingly dreary, and suffocatingly colourless. Shadows are weaponised as tools to create a forbearing ambience, whether Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok is present in the scene or not. On that note, however, Orlok’s presence is somewhat constantly felt from the initial mention of his name in the film’s early moments. For those unfamiliar with the 1922 original, Orlok both physically and metaphorically casts an ominous silhouette over Wisborg, Germany, enshrouding anything that stands between him and Ellen Hutter, portrayed in this version by Lily-Rose Depp, and the slow, building pace of this film adds to the feeling that Orlok is growing ever closer to Ellen over time.

On the topic of Depp, she steals the show here, giving easily the most impressive performance of the film, and of her career. There are a multitude of scenes wherein Depp’s Ellen is taken over by her connection to Count Orlok, which manifests itself in her physicality. There are numerous sequences wherein Ellen’s body and face are contorted into inhuman positions, and their viscerality can be owed to Depp’s incredible performance. She gives her all to this performance, earning sympathy from the viewer in her calmer moments, and then eliciting complete dread during the possession sequences. I haven’t been this unnerved by possession sequences since 1973’s The Exorcist, and they only get more distressing as the movie goes on.

Image by Focus Features

Nicholas Hoult also delivers a great performance as Ellen’s husband, Thomas Hutter, as do Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin as the Hardings, friends of the Hutters. However, their roles in the movie do feel substantially less irreplaceable than Depp’s Ellen. We should discuss the man of the hour though – Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok. While I won’t spoil the appearance of Orlok in this movie, as the advertising material clearly doesn’t want to give it away, I will say – I can almost guarantee that he doesn’t look anything like what you’re expecting. In appearance and voice, Skarsgård is completely unrecgonisable, to the point that if you weren’t told he was the man behind the cloak, you would have no way of telling that it’s him.

He does, however, feel a little more like a set-piece than a character. Personality-wise, Orlok is the manifestation of pure evil, and Skarsgård plays that role excellently. However, his inhumanity separates him from the rest of a cast that’s humanity is central to the plot, making Orlok feel more like a plot device than a fully-fledged character. With that being said, his presence is absolutely terrifying, the horror of his grotesque exterior only elevated when Skarsgård’s booming take on a Translyvanian accent echoes throughout his empty castle halls. As fascinating as it is to look at him, he unsettles the viewer to the point that his absence from the screen feels like a relief.

The two unsung heroes of this movie’s cast, however, are Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz and Simon McBurney as Herr Knock. While no one in the cast stands out as particularly weak, only Dafoe and McBurney come close to contending with Depp’s performance. Dafoe is fond of working alongside Eggers, mainly because of the freedom he is given to go wild with his roles, and his performance in Nosferatu is no different. He is incredible in this movie, as eccentric and captivating as ever. However, McBurney was a real unexpected treat here. Without giving anything away, his role is not an easy one to pull off, requiring a real vulnerability from the actor. McBurney’s commitment is one to be applauded – he has a fairly minor role in the grand scheme of things, but every second he’s on screen is well-spent.

Image by Netflix

McBurney is also central to one of the most gruesome and shocking scenes in the movie – minor spoiler for this, if you’re an animal lover, look away when you see him in the vicinity of one. On that note, the film is incredibly shocking, but this is to be expected from Eggers. The movie’s plot is fuelled by a monstrous sexual connection between Ellen and Orlok, and the film doesn’t hold back from diving into that relationship fully. It’s not necessarily as graphically explicit as Eggers’ previous works, particularly The Northman, but our more prude readers out there should certainly prepare themselves for plenty of blood and cursed lovemaking.

Now for the big question on the mind of any horror fan – is this movie scary? Well, surprisingly, this is actually where my main (and only) critique of the movie comes in. Eggers is not a director who usually takes advantage of the jumpscare. However, he seems to have forsaken this philosophy when making Nosferatu a bit, which is somewhat disappointing. Nosferatu is at its most terrifying when silence takes over and viewers are left with nothing to take in other than the visual horror of it – or, on the other hand, when the music swells so loud that you can’t wait for it to calm down. However, there’s a real overabundance of jumpscares here that were not only not needed, but also took away from the more foreboding moments of the film. Orlok should be a looming, eerie figure, not a rabid beast that jumps suddenly into frame as a cheap fearmongering tactic.

This is, truly, my only critique of this film though. Overall, it is a gothic masterpiece, a masterclass in how period horror should be handled, and an incredible reimagining of a risque story that pushed the boundaries of its own time. I can’t think of any better film for a horror fan to close out 2024. While it might be a bit much for a non-horror fan to handle, I would still encourage anyone to give this one a try. It’s one of those rare movies nowadays that deserve to be hailed as a masterpiece among its contemporaries, and I think time will only benefit it in the future. Have you seen Nosferatu? What did you think of it? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and thank you for reading!

See also: Best Underrated Horror Movies

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Where to Watch Nosferatu?

Image by Focus Features

Nosferatu released in theatres on December 25, 2024. With it being such a recent release, there’s no word yet on when it’ll hit digital – it won’t even release theatrically in some countries until early 2025! However, we’ll keep you posted on when it arrives right here!

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