Nosferatu – Movie Review (5/5)

NOSFERATU by Robert Eggers is a 2024 take on the classic gothic tale about a vampire who demands that one living woman give herself to him. The movie is terrifying and downright disturbing. It’s a masterpiece. Read our full Nosferatu movie review here!

NOSFERATU in this 2024 version by Robert Eggers is based on the 1922 original along with a touch of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel Dracula as well. If you’ve watched the 1922 version, then you will surely be able to recognize that the two are deeply connected.

The runtime of more than two hours may seem daunting, but I assure you, it is not long at all. You will not be checking your watch (unless you want to mentally timestamp any particular moments) nor will you want it to end. Do watch this in a movie theater if at all possible.

Continue reading our Nosferatu movie review below. Find it in US theaters from December 25, 2024.

Brilliant use of color – and lack thereof

The 2024 Nosferatu is a dark fairytale presented as a waking nightmare. You probably know the basics of the story from previous movies about a vampire who sets his sights on a living woman, but let me just do a quick rundown of the plot anyway.

We meet estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) as he prepares to travel to Transylvania. He needs to go there to close a deal with Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), a vampire who wants to buy property in the town of Wisburg, where Thomas lives and works with his new bride Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp).

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While Thomas is away, Ellen is left under the care of their friends Friedrich and Anna Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin) as she has a very bad feeling about Thomas leaving.

Once on her own, Ellen is (as she was in her younger years) plagued by visions and dread each night. We [the audience] know it’s Count Orlok, who wants only to go to Wisburg to finally have Ellen in his grasp.

Ellen also has a feeling that something is coming, but no one believes her. Least of all Doctor Sievers (Ralph Ineson), at first, anyway. Still, he does feel something is off and asks an old professor for help. Enter Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe), who is key in helping Ellen.

Or, well, they ultimately help each other. He knows the lore and myths, she’s living it.

Is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu a black-and-white movie?

In Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, we first meet Ellen (Lily-Roes Depp) in an intense and bold opening scene. This is when Count Orlok’s hold on Ellen begins and when she is only a girl, not yet a woman.

The opening scene is in black-and-white, but this movie is not a black-and-white movie. This is revealed in the following scene, which takes place years later. When Ellen meets Thomas, Count Orlok’s hold diminishes but never disappears completely.

Throughout this movie, we see scenes in black-and-white, but overall, this movie is in color.

Scenes are sometimes drained of color, symboling how Count Orlok as a vampire drains the world of life (via blood, as it where) leaving the world grey and colorless. The use of color (and lack thereof) along with shadows makes for a brutally terrifying viewing experience.

Also, the black-and-white scenes suitably highlight the era of the story, which just feels black and white because it takes place almost 200 years ago.

A tale of desire and grooming

In short, most of us probably know the story Nosferatu is that of the vampire who craves a woman, he can sense across time and space. It’s at the heart of both the classic 1922 movie and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

However, it’s also clear that this 2024 version – made more than 100 years after the first Nosferatu movie – has shifted its focus away from Count Orlok or the man who goes to visit him. Don’t get me wrong, these two characters are still key, but they are not at the center.

Instead, the focus is on the human woman, Ellen, who is desired by Count Orlok. It’s a different angle that works perfectly in terms of storytelling and makes it even more terrifying. In many ways, it becomes a very obvious story about grooming.

The first time Count Orlok sets his sights on the woman, she is merely a girl. He haunts her in her nightmares and has a hold on her that follows her into her waking hours as well. It’s intense and scary in all the ways that stalking and grooming is.

It’s also why Lily-Rose Depp (deservedly so) gets top-billing in the credits. After all, we don’t see her with Count Orlok much at all, but we see the effect he has on her.

Watch Nosferatu in theaters!

As mentioned many times already, this 2024 version of Nosferatu comes from Robert Eggers, who both wrote and directed it. He also produced it along with Jeff Robinov, John Graham, Chris Columbus, and Eleanor Columbus.

Robert Eggers has many impressive and already iconic movies on his resume. From his feature film debut The VVitch (2015) to The Lighthouse (2019), and The Northman (2022). He always delivers character-driven stories set in an astounding time and place.

To me, his take on the classic gothic tale about a vampire demanding a woman give herself to him is his best so far. Not least thanks to the many bold choices made. From making Count Orlok essentially a rotting corpse to Ellen portrayed perfectly by Lily-Rose Depp.

It’s a masterpiece and a movie you should ideally watch in a movie theater. At least on your first watch because you should expect that you’ll want to watch this more than once.

Nosferatu (2024) is out in US theaters from Christmas Day, December 25, 2024.

Details

Writer & Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, Willem Dafoe