Winter break marked a seminal occasion for insufferable horror movie fans such as yours truly: the release of Robert Eggers’s long-awaited revamp of F. W. Murnau’s “Nosferatu” (2024). Eggers is best known for his folk-horror film “The Witch” and the seamen-centric “The Lighthouse,” but it is his reboot of the 1922 German film as a bleak, grotesque work of Gothic horror that won me over entirely.
I had been counting down the days since the first trailer gave the world a glimpse inside this depraved tale of nauseating seduction, manipulation and a vampire with a . . . delightfully bushy mustache and fuzzy Romanian hat? Work.
I’ve now seen the film twice in theaters, and both times were equally thrilling, even when I knew what was going to happen next. “Nosferatu” is a feverish, somnambulist ordeal, and the film’s overall vibe is one of harrowing, impending doom that had me anxiously awaiting the next terrifying scene. Simply put, it’s a splendid time.
For brief context, the original “Nosferatu” from 1922 was an illegal adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” (1897). In an attempt to avoid copyright issues, the filmmakers changed the characters’ names (they did not, in fact, avoid copyright issues). Count Dracula transformed into Count Orlok and Mina and Jonathan Harker became Ellen and Thomas Hutter, to name a few.
As a now officially authorized adaptation of “Dracula,” “Nosferatu” follows a similar plot to Stoker’s novel: a solicitor is tasked with selling an estate to an eccentric Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), who secretly has his mind set on infecting the populace of the solicitor’s home city, which, in this film, is the fictional Wisborg, Germany.
One plot point that differs from the original “Dracula” novel is Orlok’s psychosexual fascination and obsession with Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), which traces back to her lonely youth.
The root of this obsession is the core of Eggers’s adaptation, in which he artfully balances a fresh take on this classic tale while still upholding the Victorian fears of disease and sexuality that inspired Stoker’s creation. Orlok is carried from the Carpathian Mountains to Germany on what becomes a plague ship filled with diseased rats spilling out onto the streets of Wisborg, and he threatens and torments Ellen’s mind to the brink of insanity. It’s evocative of the original themes from “Dracula” whilst telling a distinctive story in its own right.
Despite often shooting broad, expansive landscapes, the Eggers films I’ve had the privilege of watching are all slightly claustrophobic, with characters often confined to a singular space that encroaches upon the viewer, like the small farmstead house in “The Witch” or Orlok’s isolated castle. Though Eggers’s signature aesthetic is quite literally just a bleak, gray scene, this color palette is incredibly effective for his horror films.
One of the most gorgeous sequences in the movie shows Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) straggling down a forest path in the middle of an eerie night as snow softly falls around him. At first, all the viewer hears are the sounds of his crunching footsteps, until soft tinkling bells pervade the air, and a horse-drawn carriage hauntingly materializes out of the darkness to whisk Hutter off to Orlok’s ancient castle. It’s a breathtaking series of shots that cemented my (un)professional opinion that this movie will alter your brain chemistry, for better or for worse.
While the entire cast delivered strong performances, two in particular were the most memorable. Depp and Skarsgård had a certified diva-off for the ages, with their stand-out performances (as Ellen Hutter and Orlok, respectively) uplifting the film’s sinister, immersive atmosphere which Eggers so deftly produced. Depp’s physicality was impressively disturbing. She poured her very being into this film, essentially placing her character at its core as the film’s beating heart. I fear her performance as a tormented, possessed woman has been severely underappreciated, and yes, I am looking at you, 2025 Oscar nominations.
Now, if there’s one thing this year’s Oscar nominations did right, it was nominating “Nosferatu” for Best Costume Design. The Victorian costume designs were stunning, with Depp’s turquoise gown and her funereal black gown, each with puffed sleeves at the elbow, being my favorite pieces.
Special effects makeup was key to transforming Skarsgård into a putrid, absolutely nasty-looking vampire straight out of an Eastern European folktale, adorned in traditional furs worn by Transylvanian nobility. His terrifying visage speaks for itself.
The amount of work Skarsgård put into his character was evident throughout his performance, particularly his work on the Count’s haunting voice and mannerisms. Skarsgård disappears into the terrifying guise of Orlok, and this may be his scariest performance yet. Suffice to say, Depp and Skarsgård left me transfixed, with Hoult’s charming and heartbreaking performance following at a close second.
Despite unsettling scenes with grisly gore, the movie grants the viewer a small reprieve in the form of Willem Dafoe. Dafoe portrays occult specialist Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, and his performance is one of simultaneous crazed madness and sincerity that adds a surprising lightness to an otherwise thematically dark film.
Moviegoers were promised a scene with Von Franz and over a hundred rats surrounding Orlok’s coffin as the professor set it on fire, and it was quite glorious. Dafoe is no stranger to eccentric, odd and controversial characters, which makes him so fascinating to watch. His quieter work in
“Nosferatu” complemented Depp’s exaggerated physicality, and their respective characters came to a mutual understanding that ultimately resolved the movie’s conflict. “Nosferatu” will definitely not suit everyone’s personal tastes given the amount of stomach-churning viscera and various characters spewing blood. However, the film is an excellent work of suspenseful, Gothic horror that will invade your mind for days after watching it.
Succumb to the darkness yourself and see “Nosferatu” either on the big screen or, if you’re like me, invest in the now available extended director’s cut. Everyone say thank you, Robert Eggers!
