Nosferatu – REVIEW

Lily Rose-Depp in Nosferatu

Mentioning how excited I ended up being for Nosferatu in my review of Tarot might have put a curse onto me. Robert Eggers’s career has felt like it’s built up to this. The writer and director of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman have all been massive hits with me. The Lighthouse is arguably one of my favorite horror movies ever, and The Northman proved that he could tell stories on a massive scale, on top of delivering on some damn good Viking action bits. Even The Witch, a movie that’s grown off of me over the years, deserves credit for launching the career of Anya Taylor-Joy, who’s slowly becoming one of my favorite actors. A Eggers-helmed remake of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, F.W. Murnau’s silent masterpiece, has been in the works since before The Witch was even released. To me, it feels like a match made in heaven. Eggers’ washed out, bleak look to his movies feels like perfect material for a vampire flick. As much as I was hyped to see this, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed by Nosferatu. To get the positives out of the way, the technical craft here is spectacular. The production design for recreating 1830s England was very nice in helping immerse the audience into the movie, as well as Count Orlok’s castle. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jarin Blaschke ends up winning awards for his cinematography either, which is also gorgeous. There’s also been many interviews where Eggers mentions using candlelight to light scenes, as well as sticking to the same color palette that the original 1922 film uses. It may look washed out during daytime scenes, but the many nighttime scenes are stunning to watch. In terms of the acting, there are a good amount of standouts too. Lily Rose-Depp and Nicholas Hoult are both at the top of their game, and when is Willem Dafoe not mesmerizing to watch? I also really enjoyed seeing Ralph Ineson, who I wasn’t aware was in it. That’s where my praise stops, unfortunately. While Nosferatu really is gorgeous to look at, the story is just a slog. It takes almost an hour for the movie to grab me, and it certainly tries with the first scene between Thomas Hutter and Count Orlok, who’s played by Bill Skarsgård. The Count is by far the most frustrating element of the movie, mainly because there is a lot happening. I actually was won over by the deep, very European accent, but the look just never really clicked for me. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was also a total miscast as the “straight man” in horror movies, where he thinks that there isn’t anything supernatural going on. If you can get past the first hour, Nosferatu is a treat for horror fans, but not much else.


Ryan’s Grade: C+