I managed to finally check out Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu at my local Cineworld, a film that has been getting high praise from those indulging in the new gothic horror. I wondered if the film would live up to the hype.
This new adaption of the vampire story is one that many who have seen the 1922 film will certainly be familiar with, the 20s film was based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The German silent horror film directed by F.W. Murnau has been a favourite with fans over the many years and I’ve loved the film since first seeing it in my late teens.
F.W. Murnau’s film is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with many similarities in the plot but with key alterations to avoid copyright infringement. The filmmakers changed character names, with Count Dracula becoming Count Orlok, played by Max Schreck, and shifted some story elements. Despite these changes, Stoker’s widow sued for copyright violation, leading to a court order for the film’s destruction—though copies survived, cementing Nosferatu as a horror classic.
Now over 100 years later Robert Eggers has brought back to life Count Orlok in such a wonderful and stunning-looking film that it feels that this version of the horror classic is a true tribute to Murnau’s film. We are treated to some amazing cinematography that looks stunning on the big screen and gives you a true gothic feel to what you are watching.
The colourising of Nosferatu is something that jumped out to me straight away with it seeming somewhat washed out of colour in certain scenes and then popping with a vibrant moment such as a fireplace being lit or the lighting in a part of a room, it just looks amazing.
When it comes to Eggers’ directing the film has such powerful moments from not only the cast but also with the use of the camera movements as we move across a room or follow a character to entice us into being on the edge of our seat waiting for something to creep from the shadows or catch us unwares!
The use of shadows plays very much into the fear in Nosferatu and this film is no expectation, there are some amazing sequences with the shadow play such as Orlok being seen in the shadow of the curtains but no sign of him behind them. Then there is the hand that stretches across the city, it’s a stunning shot that puts you at unease.
The cast for Nosferatu is perfect for their roles with Bill Skarsgard (It franchise, Barbarian) as the overpowering and terrifying Count Orlok, Lily-Rose Depp (“The Idol”, The King) as Ellen Hunter, Nicholas Hoult (Renfield, The Menu) as Thomas Hunter, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals, Bullet Train) as Friedrich Harding, Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine, “The Crown”) as Anna Harding, and Willem Dafoe (The Northman, The Lighthouse) as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz.
It’s great to see Dafoe working with Eggers again and it was a little weird seeing him in this film as I kept thinking of him as Max Schreck playing Count Orlok in Shaod of the Vampire (2000), but that soon wore off with Dafoe’s excellent performance. Lilly-Rose Depp pulls out all the stops with her performance and I have to say this has been one of my favourite roles that I’ve seen her play.
The shocker with Nosferatu is Bill Skarsgard as Count Orlock, the character design is somewhat grotesque and terrifying, as is the first time we hear his character speak, at that moment I had shivers down my spine.
Adding to the atmosphere of the film we get a truly amazing soundtrack from Robin Carolan, who also brought us the superb music of The Northman. Carolan’s music in Nosferatu is a joy to listen to throughout the film, it lifts the film further to the feel of the gothic genre and is the perfect accompaniment to Eggers’, dare I say it, masterpiece.