Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula remains one of the most adapted novels of all time, originating with director F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized adaptation and lauded horror classic Nosferatu. Nosferatu, for all the creative departures it took in an effort to mask its retelling of Dracula, inspired a slew of adaptations and spiritual successors of its own.
The sheer volume of Dracula adaptations, official or otherwise, naturally begs the question of whether there’s anything left to mine from Stoker’s foundational story. Writer/Director Robert Eggers (The Northman, The Witch) immediately dispels any notion that his adaptation could possibly offer another straightforward yet handsomely crafted retread. The filmmaker’s steadfast commitment to period authenticity and immersive set pieces delivers a breathtaking, immersive experience, but it’s the way that Eggers reinterprets Murnau’s seminal work as a psychosexual gothic tragedy that transforms this adaptation into a mesmeric macabre masterpiece.
The first drastic departure comes before the Nosferatu title card even appears as it introduces protagonist Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), a social outcast begging for an end to her loneliness. She cries out into the dark for an angel to save her, but instead, her pleas awaken a menacing evil, Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), creating an impenetrable bond of death and obsession between them. Years later, Ellen finds salvation in new husband Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), but Orlok’s quest to claim Ellen as his is only just beginning.
Nicholas Hoult stars as Thomas Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Aidan Monaghan / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Depp turns in an incredible physical performance as Ellen, a preternaturally gifted woman born centuries ahead of her time. This Ellen is an outsider for her premonitions and eerie bouts with melancholy that present as horrific seizures that only her doting but clueless husband seems to quell. Of course, these violent fits come right at dusk, a vulgar display of power hailing all the way from Transylvania from an undead abusive lover.
Nosferatu isn’t a love story in the conventional sense – this demonic Strigoi isn’t capable of such an emotion – but it does depict one of the most riveting and macabre love triangles in cinema. Thomas and Ellen’s love is pure and wholesome, and occasionally even raw, but Ellen remains an irresistible siren to her violent, evil ex-lover. One willing to destroy everything. It’s a grotesque twist on a love triangle, one that Eggers fearlessly pushes into revolting territory thanks to his eponymous vampire. There’s nothing romantic at all about the walking corpse with an insatiable appetite for blood, though lust may be a different story.
Much has been touted about Bill Skarsgård’s unrecognizable transformation as Count Orlok, instilling monstrous expectations. Eggers, presenting a more traditional Transylvanian nobleman for Orlok’s garbs and origins, doesn’t shy away from making his central villain as repulsive as possible. It’s in the startling glimpses of his putrid flesh or the nauseating animalistic slurps of Orlok’s feeding as he hovers over prey in sexually prone ways. Yet it’s not the most jaw-dropping aspect of Skarsgård’s portrayal; the committed actor trained extensively with an opera singer to lower his voice an entire register. Orlok doesn’t just look intensely commanding but sounds dangerously powerful as well.
Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Aidan Monaghan / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
There’s not a single facet of Nosferatu that doesn’t impress for the sheer artistry on display. Night scenes aren’t simply well-lit; they’re re-envisioned as monochromatic nightmares, evocative of black and white gothic horror classics. Craig Lathrop’s exquisite production design whisks audiences on a tactile journey filled with dread-inducing decrepit castles, a city torn asunder by plague, gypsy camps, and beyond. Robin Carolan’s triumphant score, combined with Damian Volpe’s unsettling sound design, only furthers the immersive gothic spell. As beautiful as the costuming, set pieces, and dreamy cinematography can be, complete with quiet long takes and ethereal camera work, it’s equally matched by the horror on display. Violent deaths, an excess of blood, and necrophilia ensue in great abundance.
Ellen and Count Orlok make for one of the more morbid visions of Beauty and the Beast, but that also applies to Eggers’ visual language and storytelling. It’s so impeccably crafted, boasting production design and values rarely seen in horror like this, without sacrificing the taboo-pushing, visceral horror in the process. It’s operatic and dramatic, bold and revolting, with a powerful final shot for the ages. And Eggers’ Nosferatu happens to be set over Christmas. That all but ensures this macabre masterpiece is destined to become a new holiday horror classic.
Nosferatu releases in theaters on December 25, 2024.