It is over one hundred years since Max Shreck graced the screen in F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, creating a character so iconic and influential that his influence can still be seen today. No small feat to live up to, then, as Robert Eggers entirely reimagines the German Expressionist classic, giving voices to characters who have never had them and providing an entirely new interpretation of the terrifying Count Orlok.
Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) has been plagued by visions and fits since childhood. Her marriage to Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) initially eased her “melancholy” but, now that he has been sent on a lengthy business trip to the outskirts of Eastern Europe, it has returned. Haunted by the shadow of something claiming to love her, she is terrified of the night. Her friends (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin) are desperately worried about her condition, calling in physicians to help ease her pain. But it cannot be eased until Orlok himself (Bill Skarsgård) lands on the shores of Wisberg, causing chaos and death.
The most striking thing about Nosferatu is that you could easily be convinced that most of it is in black and white. Eggers makes use of nightfall to such an extent that the use of shadow and moonlight sweeps the entire screen in shades of inky black, foggy grey and startling white. It’s more than a little nod to the film’s Expressionist roots. There’s even a respectful take on the famous “shadow on the stairs” scene that shows that Eggers is willing to pay homage without ever losing his own vision. Linda Muir’s costume design and Craig Lathrop’s production design are flawless. It feels like a period film at all times.
The framing adds an element of other-worldliness, with characters often placed entirely in the centre of the screen (either filling the frame or neatly at the centre of a forest or corridor) as if they were addressing the audience directly. They are drawing you in to their nightmare, whether you like it or not. The fluidity of the camera adds to the visual feast of it all. Eggers guides you through seemingly impenetrable darkness or winding stone corridors before coming to an abrupt halt and rotating you back in an entirely different direction. It’s disorientating and has the effect of having you hungrily combing the screen for any hint of the Count. This is particularly effective in scenes lit only by lamplight … did that sack of ropes really just move? Robin Carolan’s score heightens these little jump scares with searing strings and trembling bass flooding the screen at just the right moments.
Nicholas Hoult impresses as Thomas Hutter, a man desperate to save his wife but, equally, confronting his own personal nightmare. This is not a film that allows for shyness and Hoult makes the most of dramatic, teary-eyed close ups and sweat-slicked chase sequences. Lily-Rose Depp is formidable as Ellen. This is an incredibly physical role – the eyes rolling back, the contortionist-like fits, the screaming – and she absolutely delivers. She gives a voice to a character who has never had one and does so with a performance that feels utterly of the period yet laced with ferocity.
As for the Nosferatu himself, it is hard to believe that Bill Skarsgård is actually in there. Buried though he is in layers of prosthesis, he still manages to give a physically imposing and vocally unusual performance. His voice is melodic, syllables lingering and constanants sharp in a manner that sounds like throat-singing. His bass is so deep that the reverberation will come through to your dreams, never mind Ellen’s. His physicality and appearance is very different to the original – but it had to be. His reveal is slow and deliberate. There is an erotic dynamic to him as he thirstily hunts down his “bride” but he is not sexy or sexualised. In fact, he’s rather putrid and decaying.
And this is a film that revels in decay. It’s a very visceral approach to vampirism. There is lots of blood, as you would expect, but it’s much more animalistic. You can hear tendons and skin being ripped away under a forceful bite; you can hear slurps of blood being gulped. It feels messy and horrific in a way that vampire films tend to avoid.
There’s also, interestingly, a streak of feminism through this Nosferatu. Ellen is told to keep her corset on to “settle her womb” when she is experiencing night terrors and is dismissed as hysterical or attention seeking. Even Freidrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) tells his daughters not to be silly about their claim that there is a monster under their bed and they can “hear him breathing”. Indeed, the whole film could read as an allegory for childhood trauma (in this case, Ellen’s) and how it manifests in adulthood.
Eggers’ Nosferatu is respectful to its source material – both Stoker’s novel and Murnau’s film – whilst reimagining it in a way that allows the director to have his own fingerprints on the iconic character. The striking visuals and incredibly physical lead performances are truly something special. With just enough jump scares and blood to keep things thrilling, this is yet another fascinating offering from the horror director.
Nosferatu is now in UK cinemas.
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