‘Nosferatu’

A sumptuous melodrama that strikes as both a horrifying and alluring picture

For the past decade, writer and director Robert Eggers has consistently enamoured audiences with his rich and textured works of folklore and myth-making. From 2015’s The Witch, to 2019’s The Lighthouse and the behemoth that was 2022’s The Northman, Eggers has quickly established himself as one of the most interesting American filmmakers of his generation. With a keen interest in storytelling and the way tales are crafted and twisted into legend, Eggers continues to expand upon the common themes from his previous works in his latest film, Nosferatu.

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a 2024 remake of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film of the same name, which itself was an unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula.The film tells the story of Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), a young woman who is haunted by her past as the subject of infatuation at the hands of the terrifying vampire, Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgård). In a bid to get closer to Ellen in her adult days, Orlock uses her real estate agent husband, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), as a means to draw nearer, bringing fear and pain with him.

In an open letter sent to Critics Choice members, Eggers said that “the most notable departure from the original film is that it is Ellen’s film.” Where Murnau’s original film places its focus on Thomas and his dealings with Orlock, Eggers’ film instead hones in on Ellen’s tragic and painful experience as an outsider and as someone who is a victim of both the society she is born into and the vampire she finds herself haunted by.

As the stand out star of the film's cast, Lily-Rose Depp’s Ellen is a complex character who finds herself in a constant struggle to fit in. From a young age, she led a lonely life, wishing for sanctuary in a ‘guardian angel’, which led to her connection to the evil Count Orlock. This connection becomes one of obsession for Orlock, who torments her with a frightening lust. Depp and Eggers translate the internal battle of Ellen in an extremely physical way, often having her contort herself in ways that come off as both painful and psychosexual, as she deals with her ill health in the wake of Orlock’s power.

Struggling to understand her experiences, Nicholas Hoult’s Thomas tries his best to love and care for his wife. Ultimately though, even through their love, the connection that Ellen feels strongest is one with an abuser. Bill Skarsgård’s performance as Count Orlock is powerful, with the actor delivering incredible vocal work that beguiles the audience as much as it does the film's characters. Orlock orchestrates everything, including his preordained meeting with Thomas at his Transylvanian castle. As Orlock manipulates Thomas into selling him a new castle that will see him come closer to Ellen physically, Thomas begins to lose himself to the power of the vampire. Through Hoult’s terrific, anxious performance, Thomas leads his days as Orlock’s castle in a haze that, while awake, feels as though he is in a dream.

This is something that becomes true for the film itself. With an almost endless layering to its production design and a visual style that is bathed in thick shadow, the film often feels like a waking dream. Eggers, along with cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, crafts an almost overpowering atmosphere to the film that is equal parts brooding as it is melodramatic. Layering themes of obsession and lust, the film is a rich blend of love and fear as Count Orlock quests for control over Ellen. While commanding as his presence looms over the world of Ellen and Thomas, Orlock is equally pathetic in his insistence upon Ellen.

The closer Orlock approaches, the deeper Ellen finds herself falling into his control and in a bid to protect her, Thomas employs the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin’s Friedrich and Anna Harding to care for her in his absence. As Ellen’s confidants in Thomas’ leave, Friedrich and Anna become entwined in Orlock’s strangle as they attempt to support Ellen through her rising melancholy. When regular medicines prove ineffective to the growing violence of Orlock’s possession over Ellen, Thomas begins to work with Willem Dafoe’s Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz; a controversial scientist and expert on the occult.

With Orlock’s grip growing tighter, Eggers slowly orchestrates the film through its sumptuous atmosphere as he blends the repulsive and seductive nature of Orlock’s power. While Thomas and Von Franz aim to confront the vampire head on, Ellen devises a plan to save those she loves through a bid to regain her self-control; something that Eggers manages to deliver as a key theme of the film through its powerful final moments. As the film boils to its conclusion, with its rising tension and melodrama; so too does Robin Carolan’s score, which acts as a constant thread that guides the audience through the film's dense atmosphere of horrors.

A work that is self professed as perhaps his most personal film, Robert Eggers Nosferatu is another spellbinding tale in his growing, folkloric filmography. With great performances from Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård and a revelatory outing from Lily-Rose Depp, Eggers crafts a sumptuous melodrama that tackles a spectrum of themes; from romance and lust to obsession and control. In its brooding atmosphere of hypnotic visuals and intimate character beats, Nosferatu is equal parts frightening as it is alluring and it is one of the most colossal works of the year. 

Nosferatu is in Australian cinemas on January 1!