Nosferatu Review: One of the Best Gothic Films in Decades!
The world has always been fascinated by vampires, whether you’re spooked by their devious and obsessive ways or attracted to their sexuality attached to their method of staying alive. For close to a thousand years the folklore and discussion of vampires has taken hold of our world introducing these blood sucking entities into our daily lives and into our nightmares. When all is said and done vampires like Edward Cullen, Bade, and those that Buffy slays have nothing on the greatest of all time, Dracula.
Related: “Carry-On” Movie Review: An Explosive Thrill!
When Bram Stoker introduced Dracula in the 1890s he became a figure that would eventually become a cultural icon, enough so that around thirty years later an unofficial adaptation of his story was made into a film called Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. After the release of The Witch, Robert Eggers has distinguished himself as a visionary director of ominous period pieces, including The Lighthouse and most recently The Northman. It is without question Eggers’s distinct style and innovation in the folk genre made him the perfect artist to take on a modern adaptation of Nosferatu. Grasping onto history and legend, Eggers has crafted a surreal experience that makes Nosferatu one of the best gothic films in decades.
Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) will do anything for connection. Her loneliness and depression cause her to call out to any spirit that will help her find happiness and love. A sinister spirit hears her call, thus beginning an inseparable bond that Ellen can not escape from. Years later Ellen marries Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) and has found the love she has sought after. To aid their financial struggles, Thomas takes a job in which he must travel into the desolate Carpathian mountains of Transylvania to sell a piece of property to Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Between his visit to Orlok, Ellen’s constant fits of seizures, and a rampant plague going around, it is clear something disturbing is going on in Wisborg, Germany.
Horses. Wolves. 2,000 live rats. The animal actors of NOSFERATU. pic.twitter.com/fUsCz9MF0m
— Nosferatu (@NosferatuFilm) January 4, 2025
Robert Eggers’ depiction of Nosferatu evokes a more terrifying and sinister atmosphere rather than sexy. Films like Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula from 1992 play very much into the unspoken desire of his lead and the sexual nature of Dracula’s longing. However, Nosferatu strips away the sexual nature of its beast and portrays Orlok as a predatorial entity that has left Ellen devoid of a promising future through his monstrous actions. Orlok is exhibited as taking advantage of an innocent child in her time of weakness to feed his own horrifying desires. This amplifies his villainous characteristics and strips away any sort of attraction between him and the audience. Eggers opts for the menacing angle to tell his story that concludes in a nihilistic yet accurate representation of the dark history of this time.
Lily-Rose Depp exhibits her immense talent in her portrayal of Ellen through her physicality. Here the audience sees an actress who can not only draw on Eggers’ vision as a director to play a disturbed and lost woman but an actress who utilizes her face, body, and internal agony to bring her possession scenes to a place few actresses can. Nicholas Hoult has mastered the period piece in the span of his career but under Eggers’ wing he is the perfect counterpart to Depp’s Ellen and proves to be a force in Hollywood.
there’s a science to getting the voice juuuussstt right 🧛🏻♂️ #NOSFERATU pic.twitter.com/O6UnolMB64
— IMAX (@IMAX) January 4, 2025
Eggers’ precise control in all of his films is even more striking in Nosferatu as he is able to harness previous material on the subject while capitalizing on production design and cinematography to showcase his gothic flair. Linda Muir’s costume designs fits precisely with the types of films Eggers has mastered and the entire makeup department does the unimaginable with Skarsgård’s transformation into Count Orlok, making him truly unrecognizable. Skarsgård has a gift for fully transforming himself into characters (such as Pennywise in IT) and Nosferatu is no different, even going through vocal training to lower his voice by an octave.
The story of Nosferatu is exciting enough through its history and presence in culture (yes, I’m even talking about his appearance in Spongebob) but Eggers adds thematic depth to this vampire tale through an exploration of a vulnerable young woman at its center. It is one thing to live in a modern society as a woman, where our thoughts and desires fall by the wayside but for a woman like Ellen in the 1800s, it is unimaginable the lack of resources and expertise on mental health that was available during that time.
Related: Best English Movies of 2024 You Can Stream Right Now!
It hasn’t been since The Witch that Eggers has been able to explore a young female character and how their reach for a life outside their bubble results in an explosive end. It shows his range in thematic material all within his signature eerie style. Nosferatu grabs ahold of its audience and will call for constant viewings when the lights dim and the monsters of the night wake.
‘Nosferatu’ Rating – 5/5
Follow Steph (the Author) on IG – @cinemasteph_7
- Babygirl Review: One of the Driest Erotic Thrillers! - January 6, 2025
- Nosferatu Review: One of the Best Gothic Films in Decades! - January 6, 2025
- Carry-On Review: An Explosive Thrill! - December 24, 2024
