Movie Review: The Original Vampire Rises Again
In our modern entertainment age, it is easy to be cynical about the number of remakes of older films there are over wholly original stories. Nowadays, I find myself far more interested in watching original movies over these remakes unless they truly do something unique with the source material. Robert Eggers’s film “Nosferatu” achieves that by adapting one of the oldest horror films in history to fit the interests of a modern audience.
“Nosferatu” is a film centered around the vampire, Count Orlock, that reimagines the 1922 silent film also titled “Nosferatu”. Count Orlock is considered the first depiction of vampires in cinema and is cemented as one of the most important horror movie monsters. With so much history behind the original story, adapting it to a modern audience is a big undertaking that was pulled off successfully.
The film primarily follows Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) a salesman who must leave his wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) to travel to Transylvania and meet with the reclusive Count-Orlock (Bill Skarsgard). Unbeknownst to Thomas and Ellen, the dark vampiric powers of the Count seek to control their lives and bring newfound horrors to Germany.
When I saw this film in the theater, the first thing I noticed was its stellar production design. The setting of 1830s Germany looks and sounds extremely appropriate for the era, with gothic buildings covering the city and large fields surrounding it populated by windmills. Moments where you get a larger picture of the world feel appropriately beautiful and haunting.
These feelings are assisted by the heavy use of shadows that out any colors making for an oppressive viewing experience that feels appropriate. The dim lighting also hides many horrors in the film, for example, the Count himself. For most of the movie, you never get a good look at the vampire as he remains bathed in shadows, leading you to speculate what he actually might look like.
The performances across the board were stellar with extra kudos towards Lily-Rose Depp who delivers a performance that captures the madness of her character very well. Willem Dafoe’s role as a crazed occultist does a good job of adding minor levity to a film that is pure gothic horror.
I had faith in this film going into it, based on Robert Egger’s previous films having stellar productions and acting. “Nosferatu” is a film that masterfully retells some of the oldest forms of horror, a type of horror not commonly seen anymore. I thought this was a perfect film to ring out the new year and would happily encourage any horror fans to check it out for themselves.
