Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson
Plot: A newly-wed real estate broker is assigned to travel from Germany to meet a client in the Carpathian Mountains. After an unsettling journey, he encounters Count Orlock, an undead demonic parasitic creature who fixates on the broker’s wife.
Review: Whilst the history of the Nosferatu as a character isn’t generally known to the mainstream audiences of 2024, the distinctive visage of the main character has been stamped on pop culture consciousness for decades. Originally an attempt to bypass copyright law by making Dracula with the numbers filed off, the bald, bat-like appearance of Count Orlock is a recurring depiction of a less human vampire character. Lore surrounding the original 1922 production took on a life of its own and inspired the 2000 Shadow of the Vampire, and Orlock style vampires appear in modern media such as What We Do in the Shadows and Spongebob Squarepants. What makes Eggers’ version noteworthy is that it’s the first completely sincere remake in decades.
The first thing we notice about this film (having not seen the trailers – we’re coming out for a new Eggers film no matter what!) is the distinct visual style. It took us a short while to determine if we were looking at a black and white and colour tinted film or a a colour film so thoroughly washed out that it is reduced to a cold slate palette. Scenes set at night appear in this heavily manipulated and lit style and it’s highly evocative of the original film. From the outset, these carefully composed visuals are one of the strongest features of this movie. Eggers is one of the most precise and meticulous film-makers of the modern era and he consistently demonstrates the strength of the art-form in an age when digital shortcuts have become the norm and we love him for it.
There’s little change to the original storyline. Thomas Hutter (Hoult) is a newly married realtor in Wisborg, Germany, who is tasked with travelling to Carpathian Mountains to close a deal with Count Orlock (Skarsgård). The isolated an sinister Count wishes to retire to their city, and Hutter needs him to sign the final pages…as well as being served up as victim to the undead, blood-sucking monster. When the Count arrives in Winsborg, bringing the plague with him, he targets Hutter’s new wife Ellen (Depp) with whom he shares a physic connection. With the aid of the eccentric Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Dafoe), they have to sacrifice Ellen to prevent further death.
Being tied to the narrative structure of the original is all well and good, but it does create a disconnect between the first and the second halves of the movie. One of the mild criticisms we have of the film is the halting of momentum once Orlock reaches Germany. There’s an intense build up to the reveal of Orlock, who is not revealed in the marketing at all (an excellent move) and when he does appear in his rotting glory it pays off that build perfectly. We love the new look for this character. There’s one specific addition to his look that we won’t spoil here…but it is incredible. One for the ages. Top ten of that particular thing in cinema history. And then we move the action to Germany and we shift back to first gear. Suddenly the film slows right down and we’re fidgeting in our seats a bit waiting for it to get back up to speed.
But then we put our focus back on the carefully designed visuals. We find it hard to articulate how this works, but Eggers seems to have drawn upon the film-making sensibilities of the silent era and brought it to life with modern techniques and technologies. The symmetrical framing, central positioning of the actors, the heavy use of shadows or retained with the smooth camera movements and effects work of that changing technologies allows. We do not have enough praise for this cinematography.
Eggers also enjoys putting the barrel of the camera right in the actor’s faces, making them dominate the screen and our attention. The nature of the film calls for big emotions and reactions, and with the camera so close it needs some grounding to avoid it becoming pantomime. When you bring together a cast including Hoult, Dafoe, Taylor-Johnson, Corrin and the like you’ve got a squad who can walk that fine line and keep us in the experience. Skarsgård is experienced in playing sinister and haunting through a heavy layer of make-up and brings his A-Game once again. Unfortunately, Lily Rose-Depp is not on the same level as the other cast members, either through lack of experience or ability, and errs into the over-the-top without the grounding. As a result, her fits and seizures create less terror and more chuckles.
This may not be the experience mainstream audiences are expecting from a vampire movie, but if you want your horror to be focused on the art of film-making and character development then it is unmissable. For all our excitement to see this, is isn’t our favourite of the short Eggers canon thus far. Although that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement, it still puts it head and shoulders above most cinema coming out this year. Willem Dafoe certainly seems to be having fun, and that’s always worth the price of a ticket.
Rating: EIGHT out of TEN
