A beloved, horrifying story like that of Nosferatu isn’t an easy one to remake. But the darkness invites you in and terrifies you in Robert Eggers’ take on the classic vampire story.
Ellen Hunter (Lily-Rose Depp) has been drawn to that darkness her entire live, being brought in and groomed by the looming figure of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). But when she finds happiness with Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), the fear of the shadows threatens to take it all away from her. Eggers uses the darkness of his setting, both in Transylvania and Germany, to lure the audience in and keep us alert, afraid.
The entire film, I felt as if the darkness was going to reach out and consume me. I was terrified that at any moment, Orlok would reach out and take control of me as he did to Ellen and those closest to her. It was beautifully shot in that Eggers way that uses color ever so sparingly. But living in the darkness of a story about the vampire who has terrified so many for years really worked to bring the looming presence of Count Orlok to life.
The plot is very much what many of us know of Dracula. Thomas goes to Count Orlok’s home to sell him a new house, Orlok travels by boat to get to his new life. All of those beats from the Bram Stoker novel remain the same. But Eggers still captivates his audience by letting us live in the fear of what we do not see. That is how Orlok operates in his world. He has control over situations, using his power to do his bidding, and manipulates every situation to his will.
We, as the audience, are left watching those too consumed by him to push back and fight.
The fear of the unknown
What really works with Eggers’ film is that we don’t know how or why this is happening. Yes, the shadows (as I have pointed out) play an important part in the story and that feeling. But we also don’t know exactly what Orlok is or the control that he has on the characters we’ve come to love and care for. Eggers masters the art of introducing his characters and making you fear for them as they are forced to bend to Orlok’s will.
Often, Orlok’s control feels sexual in nature, as good vampire stories often do, but Eggers doesn’t glorify that hold. Instead, you feel the ickiness of the situation creeping over you as Ellen screams out, crying and trying to free herself from the darkness that has fallen over her throughout her life. Even when Thomas is at Orlok’s home, you’re captivated by what happens at night before you see the fear in him when the morning comes.
It all weaves into the true fear a story like Nosferatu holds on us. But Eggers’ take on the classic story makes one thing abundantly clear: No one wants to trust what a woman believes.
A woman’s truth is a man’s downfall
From the start of the film, Ellen tells her husband that she fears this trip he is embarking on. That he shouldn’t go. He ignores her pleas. Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) promises to look after Ellen while he is gone and yet is consistently annoyed and overwhelmed by the struggles that she is going through, the pain she feels.
The only man who gives her the time is Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe). He listens, understands, and trusts in Ellen when no one else will. Each man is responsible for their own folly, ignoring what Ellen has said to them in order to do what they think is best.
It is what makes this story so overwhelming and frustrating and timely. Ellen is essentially on her own going through this and the men she does speak to refuse to listen. It is something many of us recognize in our own lives and getting to see it told so heartbreakingly beautifully in Ellen’s story is what makes Nosferatu one of the best films of the year and arguably the best take on Stoker’s novel to date.
Published: Dec 3, 2024 12:42 pm