In 1922, one of the first horror and vampire movies was released through a challenging time. Almost all of the 1922 copies of “Nosferatu” were destroyed due to a copyright case, where the original director F. W. Murnau, who was inspired by the acclaimed “Dracula” novel, did not get permission for the creation of the movie. With one print leftover, Nosferatu was able to reappear in 1929 where it was allowed to be released and became an icon in the horror genre and in pop culture in general. Almost a hundred years later, “Nosferatu,” directed by Robert Eggers, was released across theaters worldwide, with him giving his own take on this beloved character and story.
Robert Eggers with his short but impressive repertoire slowly showed the process of this film through the past years, especially focusing on the lead played by Lily-Rose Depp, one of the most popular nepo-babies in current times but with a low number of films under her belt. Her debut on the big screen is in such a big role but she completely becomes Ellen Hutter, a lonely girl scared of the dark side within her, incorporating much melancholy into her manners. The film makes Ellen go through many extreme emotions and scenes, and our main actress does it perfectly in a way I couldn’t see many other performers do.
The whole cast is not affected by the well-known symptom of “iPhone face,” where actors seem too modern to be in period pieces. The cast of “Nosferatu” resembles old paintings and the fashion allowing the actors to look like they belonged in the 1800’s. This combined with the amazing cinematography, low and dark colors used as the color palette, and delectable costume design makes it so the immersion feels real and as a history truthful to those times.
Diving a bit more into cinematography, we can see Eggers play with almost completely black and white values at some points with a lot of symmetry. As well as harsh shadows with very few lights, as to make characters stand out from such dark environments. The scenery and world-building are also extraordinary, making the Gothic style stand out during the full 2-hour duration.
Finally, the story, even though mentioning the same essentials from the original films, adds small touches and changes to the story to make it have its own identity. One of the larger changes is Count Orlok appearance, a lot more repulsive and creepier than the at times silly-looking creature from the original. Bill Skarsgård continues being the monster guy of Hollywood and completely turns into this obsessed, blood-driven, vampire haunting Ellen. The tension that both characters have between each other, both sexually and psychologically, makes for enthralling interactions when they meet at different times throughout the movie, and combined with other characters, such as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz played by Willem Dafoe, make it an almost creepy Sherlock search to find out how to defeat this monster and save Ellen and everyone else from the plague Nosferatu can bring, achieving a satisfying ending and overall a good development of the whole piece.
Nosferatu is available in film theaters all around the world, and I recommend it to anyone reading.
