Nosferatu: Gothic Beauty Meets Mundane Storytelling
Dustin Chase
It’s that time of year when candles flicker in windows, and snow falls quietly on the distant castle as we all give thanks for…. Vampires? Focus Features cleverly picked Christmas Day to release the highly anticipated “Nosferatu” by Robert Eggers for some dark counter-programming. You don’t have to look far on Film-Twitter to see cinema fans’ excitement. As with Eggers’s previous films “The Witch,” “The Northman,” and “The Lighthouse,” I would caution mainstream audiences to get expectations in order. Style over substance is usually what you come away with from Eggers’s work. “Nosferatu,” his most ambitious and widely released work yet, might determine whether he is a commercial filmmaker or an independent one. There is no denying the look of the film is impeccable, among the best of the year.
An agent “in the flesh” is requested to the castle of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) to sign a deed and complete the land sale. However, things quickly become ominous when the young Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) parts from his wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) to meet this mysterious Orkok. Ellen has disturbing visions and dreams of oncoming darkness; Thomas witnesses it in person and desperately tries to return and warn his wife and close friends Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Emma Corrin) Harding. “The Shadow covers you in a nightmare.” As the nightmare becomes a reality, these two tortured families seek to put Nosferatu back from where he came and call upon the questionable Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe) for his expertise. “A force more powerful than evil… it’s death itself.”
"The shadow cover you in a nightmare."
Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke has shot all Eggers films, all memorable and distinctive. “Nosferatu” opens up like the beginning of a war film, with gorgeous wide shots of Hoult’s character setting off on his journey. It takes the viewer a bit to realize that some scenes are so de-saturated that you think you are looking at a black-and-white picture. To say Eggers leans into the bleak time period would be an understatement. Only when we see blood or blue sky do we realize it’s not black and white, and the color is even more vivid when it returns. Blaschke and Eggers redefine what gothic horror looks like for cinema here. Patience does pay off for the blood and gore near the end if that’s what you are here for.
Is a good-looking picture enough to satisfy your cravings? Beyond the look of the film, “Nosferatu” checks off every vampire movie cliché. This one is over two hours long, like most films (especially in the awards conversation). It’s not a ‘horror movie’ two hours either; it’s a lot of shadow play, conversations, and anticipation. “Nosferatu” completes actor Nicholas Hoult’s fall season trifecta, with “The Order” and “Juror #2” preceding. Both prior films find better performances from the in-demand actor. Depp is the real showcase here and the story’s focal point, as Nosferatu wants not only her blood and soul but also her body. Despite all the lust and talk of sex in the film from the beautiful cast, there isn’t anything sexy included, even in certain scenes where there could have been. If you enjoyed Eggers’s “The Witch,” in my opinion, still his best film to date, you are more likely to find “Nosferatu” somewhat satisfying. If “The Lighthouse” or “The Northman” wasn’t for you, likely, this won’t be either.