Review: Nosferatu – Shadow of the vampire

Directed by Robert Eggers
Starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe

7.5/10

In the 1830s, a newlywed couple are temporarily separated by the husband’s employment. As real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) travels to Transylvania to meet with a prospective client, his wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) is plagued by terrifying visions and an overwhelming sense of dread. A sense of dread that starts to overwhelm Thomas as well, as he meets the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) and becomes drawn into his evil plan.

There’s a lot to unpack from Nosferatu, both for the film itself and the legacy it taps into with Murnau’s 1922 masterpiece of German expressionist cinema. Firstly, you need to acknowledge that the original was amongst the first mockbusters, changing the story enough to hopefully avoid getting sued (unsuccessfully, as Stoker’s heirs won the subsequent court case). So, it’s also a Dracula story as well, something Herzog in his 1979 remake leans into by changing the analogue characters back to their original names.

In short, there’s a bundle of horror history tied up with this film. This is both in terms of iconic imagery that has resonated through a century of horror, the vampiric lore that the original film contributed to the myth (like vampires being killed by sunlight), and the characters (be they Murnau’s or Stoker’s). This is something director Robert Eggers clearly understands and has proven comfortable with as he brings us a stunningly sumptuous visual piece.

Primarily, Eggers brings supernatural horror back to the vampire myth. Not only does he tie it into the folklore and occult tradition, but his version of the vampire is unique. Orlok is a blasphemy, but one that’s solidly real, asserting their own gravity. His very existence forces madness and horror, a tangible walking nightmare. It’s a refreshing take in an era that often relies on the bestial Lost Boys archetype as its “bad boy” of choice, instead giving us something that’s almost Lovecraftian in its effect on mankind.

In many ways, this is reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s an accomplished director, taking a tilt at the vampire myth, with a lot of studio resources behind them. Both have produced stunning visual pieces drawing upon a rich cinematic history, especially the expressionism and shadow play in Murnau’s original film. Eggers’ take is darker and crueller, with the romanticism of Coppola’s work snuffed out. This gives Nosferatu an edge, but ultimately it suffers from the same flaw.

Nosferatu is a beautiful and engaging film, but it’s somewhat hollow. The core of the issue appears to lie with the character of Ellen. Despite a solid performance by Depp, it’s unclear what her character is meant to represent. In part this is due to the supernatural elements rubbing up against the societal setting, and in part it’s our modern expectations (of gender equality, mental health, and sexuality) coming into play.

Ellen seems to exist in a nebulous intersection of all of this. At once she’s a fey-touched individual, a lady of unbalanced humours, a person using the power allowed to her, a woman struggling against social confines, and a cursed manic pixie dream girl. Nosferatu plays this ambiguously, but instead of feeling like an exploration of all possibilities, it feels muddled. Perhaps this will become clearer with subsequent viewings, but as it stands, it’s a definite weakness. As Ellen is positioned as the heart of the story, brought to even more prominence by an added prologue, it becomes a significant flaw.

Yet even the weakest of Eggers’ work is still an extraordinary thing, and this has a strong legacy to draw from. Nosferatu is a dark and compelling fantasy that manages to bring sheer terror back to the vampire genre.

DAVID O’CONNELL