Movie Review: Nosferatu (2024)

“I have seen things in this world that would have made Isaac Newton crawl back into his mother’s womb. We have not become so much enlightened as we have been blinded by the gaseous light of science. I have wrestled with the devil as Jacob wrestled the angel in peril. And I tell you, if we are to tame darkness, we must first face that it exists.” ~ Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (2024), as spoken by Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, played by Willem Dafoe

Out since Christmas, I finally got to see Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (2024) in the theater this week. Starring Bill Skarsgård as the vampire Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, the film is a haunting remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 German classic, Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors), which was itself based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic horror novel, Dracula. I’ll do my best not to give anything away.

Despite Hollywood’s poor record of late, I had a good feeling about this film, and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. A cinematographic masterpiece, Eggers’ reimagining is both visually and aurally stunning. A convincing period piece, the sets and costumes were magnificent. Movie-goers are transported back to 1838 Wisburg, Germany, and the brooding Carpathian wilds of Transylvania.

L'Enigme, 1871, oil on canvas, Gustave Doré

Clearly inspired by the paintings of the old masters, various scenes pay homage to Caspar David Friedrich’s The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis, Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare, and Gustave Doré’s The Enigma, among others. Normally, I don’t like the drab and dark cinema trend of late, but in this case, the muted colors served, intentional or not, as an evocative tribute to the original black-and-white film.

Vlad Tepes III

“I am an appetite, nothing more.” ~ Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, as spoken by Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgård

While all the actors were superb, Skarsgård’s portrayal of the imperious vampire was absolutely bone-chilling and deserves special praise. The eldritch fiend’s harrowing voice, heartless malevolence to his lessers, and ravenous bloodlust were all gruesomely portrayed. I especially liked the decision to make him look like an old mustachioed Wallachian voivode, like Prince Vlad Tepes III, rather than the hackneyed tuxedoed maîtres d'hôtel with slicked-back hair alla Bela Lugosi.

Be warned: Nosferatu is not for the faint-hearted, there are disturbing scenes replete with gore, the occult, and nudity.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, January 23, Feast Sant'Ildefonso da Toledo