'Nosferatu' Review

Making vampires evil again.

(Content warning: Nosferatu contains extremely disturbing imagery, dark content, and nudity. This film is not for the faint of heart or anyone who is not a fan of the horror genre. Also if you are afraid of rats this is NOT the film for you.)

Robert Eggers is without a doubt my favorite film director of the next generation. He does everything right with horror and understands the genre on so much more than a superficial level. Eggers’ films are notoriously difficult to recommend for their intensity but are above all impactful. It would not surprise me in the slightest to find out if he is religious, seeing as all of his films are able to cut at a spiritual terror as well as a physical one. Robert Eggers keeps up his incredible track record (yes, I loved The Northman) with a film that will go down as one of the greatest horror remakes of all time, and casts out the moral relativity of the modern day in a welcome exchange for objective good and evil.

It is worth noting first that Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 film of the same name. Made as an unlicensed adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, F.W Murnau’s 1922 adaptation still remains to this day one of the most influential horror films to date. Many of my generation were first exposed to Nosferatu as a mysterious light switch flipper in the “Graveyard Shift” episode of Spongebob Squarepants. However as I’ve gotten older and become better acquainted with the horror genre and vampires in general, it is evident that above all things, they are evil. Pure, unadulterated evil. This was Stoker’s original vision and the vision that was held in their introduction. Vampires represent unchecked and uncontrollable desire, being so rooted in the world that one's body is manifested and controlled by demonic powers for all of time. They are the Devil’s imperfect mockery of the Faithful Resurrection that will occur for all the faithful at the end of time. Over time, as we have progressed further into the moral relativism of the 20th and 21st centuries, vampires have been made to be everything but evil. Easy on the eyes, misunderstood, tragic villains that are victims of their society, and sometimes even good. Their corrupt nature has been covered up and glamified to be made appealing instead of appalling, which is quite fitting and symbolic of how society has progressed during that time.

Nosferatu (2024) destroys this trend, sevenfold. There is nothing appealing about Count Orlok. It is evident from the first scene in the film that Count Orlok is nothing short of one of the evilest characters ever put to film. He is portrayed perfectly as intended and in accordance with what vampires naturally are. Nosferatu is as committed to emphasizing the importance of the values of the Victorian era as the actual era itself. The film is committed to professing the importance of religion, modesty, cleanliness (spiritually and morally), selflessness, and the love of what is good in the world. The film is dedicated to showing the importance of these, however, by showing it under attack. Under attack from an evil that is beyond our comprehension. An evil that by the film’s own admission cannot be fought on a physical level, but a spiritual level. A front that man has neglected for his pursuit of science, and this thus unable to defend. Willem Dafoe’s character (another show-stopping performance to no ones surprise) declares how man must first acknowledge evil in order to fight it. The minority of negative reviews of this film accuse it of being outdated thematically, a take that is outright moronic. If anything, thematically it is what we need most. Lily Rose-Depp’s character even quotes Galatians in discussing with Orlok the importance of “Crucifying one’s passions”. This belief is held evident and the failure to do so at the beginning of the film is what sets the field for the film. This film does well with capturing that evil is merely the imperfect mockery of what is good. So many images and scenes reminded me of something good, but looking in this ugly interpretation of what is good by the evil within this world, it was very clear the intent was to show that evil can only distort and corrupt.

Nosferatu excels in what Eggers has become known for: brilliant commitment to time periods, language, history, acting, cinematography, imagery, and depth. This rendition of this classic story sets itself above the others in every capacity. Nosferatu is brooding in the best way possible that fits the story so well. It is the best shot film of 2024, being done on 35 mm, and the effects are impeccable. Go in not knowing what this rendition of Count Orlok looks like, as it is something that is best experienced within the film. The score is a fantastic accompaniment to the film itself and helps to intensify the horror shown within. Every performance within this haunting tale is superb, with every cast member making their mark with fantastically written dialogue that feels both period-accurate and understandable. For any fan of the genre, I would absolutely recommend it to them, but only if they are comfortable with some pretty heavy topics and imagery.

All of this went without saying though, this film earned its R rating for sure. It deals with a wide range of taboo topics with some highly graphic imagery. The few sex scenes within the film are not the most graphic, but they are anything but titillating. Both are outright disturbing and quite uncomfortable and do not last very long. The blood is used liberally with shocking effect, and the film escalates with a gradual intensity that is not for the squeamish. This is a difficult film to recommend, but I would most liken Nosferatu to William Friedkin's The Exorcist. Yes, Friedkin himself was an atheist, but the sole credited screenwriter William Peter Blatty was a devout Catholic. The disturbing scenes when described are horrifying, but its intent is to show what we are up against and the evil that is out there. Without Him, there is no hope, no salvation, no anything. Only through our imitation of Him and our belief in Him can we hope to potentially be saved from the unspeakable evil that desires the downfall and submission of all living things. I look forward to seeing what other fantastic pieces Eggers will bring to life, and have every intention of rewatching this in the near future. Happy New Year and pray often!