‘Nosferatu’ Brings Classic Horror…See Egger’s film for a beautiful experience, not scares!”
Watching Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” left me intrigued. I had been looking forward to this film and didn’t quite know what to expect. What I got was … different. It was good, but it felt like a movie plucked out of time—a strange fever dream. I don’t know what I was expecting. I had seen Eggers’ “The Northman,” and after watching “Nosferatu,” it seems he dipped into the same well.
“Nosferatu” isn’t like other modern horror films. It certainly isn’t like other vampire films. There’s no glittering, furrowed brows or dramatic, overly goth creator-createe relationships. That may be because it’s a faithful remake of the 1922 film “Nosferatu.”
Both versions of “Nosferatu” tell the story of Thomas Hutter, a young clerk sent to the remote Carpathian mountains to assist Count Orlok with a real estate transaction. Upon arriving at the eerie castle, Hutter discovers that Orlok is a vampire, a monstrous creature of the night with sinister plans to spread his curse. Orlok becomes infatuated with Hutter’s wife, Ellen, and journeys to her coastal town, leaving a trail of death and despair in his wake. As the townspeople are terrorized, Ellen realizes she holds the key to stopping the vampire, sacrificing herself to lure Orlok into the light and destroy him.
Though both films have nearly identical screenplays, there was plenty to take in, because Eggers definitely made this movie his own. However his choices ultimately made this horror movie light on scares. I still enjoyed the movie, but not because it was scary.
My feelings about it were similar to those I had for Eggers’ “The Northman.” I enjoyed “The Northman,” but for reasons I hadn’t expected. I went into it expecting a viking epic full of bloody battles, boasting, drinking and pillaging. You know … a testosterone fueled guy movie. It had some of that. Most viking films and TV shows serve the action and viking mentality up front and center. This wasn’t the case here “The Northman.” It was brutally violent, but dreamlike to the point of being distracting. The tone was odd. The scenery, design and attention to historical detail were more captivating than the story or the action sequences.
Nosferatu is very similar in this regard. The movie is a beautifully shot period piece—a well-done one at that—which is why it feels so out of place and time. Nosferatu is set in the 19th century, a time of stovepipe hats, sailing ships and uptight rich folks. There are a few ways to approach making a period piece. One is to be accurate, but allow the characters to behave as modern audiences expect people to behave. This approach feels less romanticized. Another is to be accurate to the period in both feel and behavior. Very chaste and proper. The latter comes off more theatrical and romantic, reminiscent of movies like “Little Women.” “Nosferatu” falls into this latter category, which feels off, considering the subject matter.
On top of being beautifully shot and leaning into theatrical romanticism, “Nosferatu” is highly stylized—like a darker version of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” It’s a striking gothic tale, but just like “The Northman,” this film misses the mark on its main objective. It’s not scary, and ultimately several sequences come off as weird for weird’s sake. I laughed out loud at a few scenes, because they were just silly. Most of the scares in the movie were pure jump scares, and much of the tension built up in the scenes fell flat upon delivery.
Orlock’s design didn’t help. I know Eggers was trying to be faithful to the original 1922 film, but he missed the mark. Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of Count Orlok was suitably menacing, but his accent and dialogue proved more distracting than effective. For me, those kinds of choices were the real issue. Again and again throughout the movie, Eggers’ choices overamplify certain aspects, making things too weird and out of place, which disrupted the tone and flow. It broke my suspension of disbelief and completely took me out of the experience.
I wasn’t overly impressed by the performances, either. I’m a devout Willem Dafoe fan, but I found him edging on campy in his role as Albin Eberhart von Franz. Nicholas Hoult, playing Thomas Hutter, seemed to channel Keanu Reeves’ Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. That’s not great—OK, but not great. The one standout for me was Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter. Her performance was gripping. She was a strong yet vulnerable woman torn between obsession and terror.
I have to reiterate: This is still a good film. From a purely aesthetic perspective, Nosferatu is a triumph. It’s fascinating and flawed. The film’s tone is all over the place and suffers from comparisons to the original and a slew of other movies based on it. However, in the grand scheme of cinema, it contributes to the conversation. There’s much to admire, even if the scares are few. I’d give it a 6 out of 10.
