Nosferatu Review
Gothic horror mixes with Eggers typical precision and remarkable performances to craft a frighteningly well realised reinvention of this cinematic classic.
Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) has a strange lingering connection to a devilish entity named Nosferatu; one that challenged her as a young girl, but has largely ebbed away in the intervening years since she met her husband Thomas (Nicholas). When Nicholas’ employer sends him to Transylvania to sell a property to the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard), Ellen’s nightmarish connection returns. Orlok, otherwise known as the fiendish Nosferatu, turns his attention to the young woman, and as he journeys to her to take back what he believes is rightfully his, Ellen and Thomas must team up with their friends Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Emma Corrin), and the crazed Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe) to find a way to destroy the demon.
There’s something to be said about director Robert Eggers work, and the level of care and precision he brings to every shot. It was on full display on his last film, The Northman, and here reappears once again - but dialled up to 11. Every frame crafted by Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke is a painting, framed by the wonderful costume design and production design across the entire film. Whether it’s the way the forest looks in Transylvania, the imposing castle of Nosferatu, or even the detail on the coffins used for some of the dead, every moment in this film feels thought out and intentional.
The story itself is both full of scary, gothic horror, and mixed with the occasional well-placed flourish of humour. Perhaps the only criticism is that on occasion, the film pulls its punches; there’s plenty of gore and shock here, but some of the scares fall to jump scare tropes, and it feels like we’re being thrilled at 90% instead of 100%.
The performances across the board are fantastic. Lily-Rose Depp is particularly visceral as Ellen Hutter, in a remarkably physical performance that has her contorting into all sorts of inhuman shapes while having nightmares; truly creepy. Dafoe is another standout, his manic and crazy, yet also prescient, Professor a true highlight of the film. The remainder of the main cast also do their thing to perfection, as you’d expect with names like Hoult, Corrin and Taylor-Johnson on the billing sheet.
Perhaps most interesting is Bill Skarsgard as Count Orlok, the nefarious Nosferatu; a performance that hasn’t been talked as much about in the lead up to the film’s release, but one that is absolutely astonishingly good. One wonders if after years of seeing Skarsgard transform himself for creepy roles like the clown in It, audiences are too used to the remarkable work he performs both vocally and physically in a role like this.
Ultimately, Nosferatu is a gorgeously rendered and chilling reinvention of a gothic horror classic that is sure to delight cinephiles and horror fans alike.
