Nosferatu Movie Review

Nosferatu (2024)

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Written by: Robert Eggers (written for the screen by), Henrik Galeen (inspired by the screenplay "Nosferatu"), Bram Stoker (inspired by the novel "Dracula")
Directed by: Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin
Rated: R

Plot
A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

Verdict
It's incredible how yet another movie about vampires can feel like a fresh take. It's bolstered by a fascination and adherence to history. The town streets and and castles look genuine. Everything about this movie is well made. This isn't a horror movie, it's a drama that happens to feature a vampire. It never sets out to scare you like a horror movie would. It's as grounded as a story about a vampire can be while creating an authentic feeling. Each scene is dreary and foreboding as Nosferatu's plans are soon revealed.
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Review
This begins with Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) praying for companionship and ends with a ghastly vision that we can only assume is the titular vampire. How and why she connects to Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) is only addressed later when a character states she has a connection to spirits that few possess.

Years later Ellen is recently married to Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and her visions return, images of a wedding, blood, and death. She doesn't understand them, and everyone else writes them off as her imagination. At the same time her husband, basically a real estate agent, is sent far away to sign a contract for a rich client. It's a blink and you'll miss it moment when Thomas's employer traces the journey on a map which ends in Transylvania. Orlok seems to have orchestrated Thomas's trip as he's infatuated with Ellen.

Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe play Ellen Hutter, Albin Eberhart von Franz

Many scenes are de saturated that they seem black and white. It creates a dreary affect that confuses dreams and reality. While many of Ellen's visions are de saturated, it's not always indicative of a dream. Often dreary scenes are punctuated with the orange glow of torches. 

Thomas ignores all the warning signs as this is a chance to impress his boss and get a raise. Despite every reason to run he continues to Orlok's castle. Orlok is strange and the encounter only gets more odd. This delays showing Orlok directly, we see him out of focus or in the distance but his voice is haunting. He has the traditional Transylvanian accent, but his voice is deep and otherworldly.

Nicholas Hoult plays Thomas Hutter

This isn't a movie where everyone has knowledge of vampires and how to defeat him. Thomas only picks up a stake to stab Orlok because he saw something in a dream when he was in nearby village. It's a great way to explore the lore without exposition or having to innately know a vampire's weakness. While Thomas begins to suspect something isn't right, Ellen knows Orlok is coming. He sails across the ocean and with him, he brings the plague. While we see very little of what happens on the boat, it's a fun intersection with The Last Voyage of the Demeter. While that's not a great movie, it feels like a reference point.

Orlok's journey to Germany is all part of his manipulation to get Ellen to reaffirm her pact to him, a pact she didn't even realize existed. We know Ellen is some kind of medium, and that is what attracts Orlok. Why he goes to such trouble to journey to her, we don't know. It could just be that such mediums are so few, that Orlok can't help his attraction. It could be no more than she asked for a companion. The movie frequently references providence, and it may no more than Ellen is ill fated.

This avoid many of the common vampire tropes. This is a demon affixed to a woman, and at times this seems like a possession movie. There are no heroics or grand plans, just a bleak hope that they can somehow stop Orlok. Even then, only two of them venture into Orloks caste, in vain, as they can't stop him.

Eggers's movies always research history for accuracy. That provides the basis for a world that makes believing vampires exist a little easier. It also creates a mood, from the look to the imagery. Orlok's castle is run down and the the corridors dark, mirroring the decay of his body. It's easy to imagine he's hundreds if not thousands of years old.