
What do you get when you combine Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the 1922 silent horror classic Nosferatu and amazing performances? If you’re Robert Eggers, you get a masterpiece.
A retelling of both Dracula and the original Nosferatu, Nosferatu (2024) is a gothic tragedy that comes to life on screen—even as characters die. The film follows Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), a newlywed haunted by dreams of a creature out to make her his own. When her husband, Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), embarks on a journey to sell a manor to a mysterious, Transylvanian count, Ellen’s nervous condition worsens.
At the count’s castle, Thomas becomes sick and begins to suffer from similar haunting dreams. He soon discovers that the mysterious Count Orlok (an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgard) is a vampire and just manages to escape with his life. Though Thomas’s journey to the castle does a fantastic job of building suspense, the scene in the castle itself drags slightly and erases some of the tension built up. This is my only real critique of the movie as a whole.
The tension increases once Orlok sets sail for his new manor in Ellen’s city aboard a ship carrying the plague. Once he lands, the plague hits the city and Ellen’s possessions devolve rapidly while her husband works with their host Freidrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and a disgraced physician (Willem Dafoe) to stop the plague carrier, who they call Nosferatu.
From then on, the movie’s pacing is quick and precise, and the excitement remains high. Fueled by the script’s thoughtful character explorations and the actor’s incredible performances, the film roars forward and drags you along, keeping you on your toes until the end.
These days, every movie looks good. It’s become impossible to gauge a film’s quality based solely on its aesthetics, and I came into Nosferatu with this in mind. That being said, from the opening scene of the film, I was blown away by the visuals. The dramatic, gothic world of Nosferatu is portrayed through masterful shot framing, carefully designed sets and inventive character design.
This impressive character design is best exemplified by Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard). To reinvent the horror icon in a way that still scares audiences, Eggers reimagines the count as an undead, rotting, Transylvanian lord, then shrouds him in shadow, leaving just enough to the imagination. Coupled with Skarsgard’s chilling performance, Count Orlok comes to life in a way that feels both new and terrifyingly ancient.
Despite this, Nosferatu’s namesake was not the most compelling part of the movie. Even as a casual fan of Lily-Rose Depp, I was skeptical about her chops as an actor before seeing the film, but her performance blew me out of the water. Her depiction of possession is both terrifying and devastating, and it is the reason I will be re-watching it. While writing the film, Eggers made the decision to focus more heavily on Ellen as the protagonist of the film, exploring her possession and internal battle against evil. This was hands down the best decision made for the film—giving Depp the floor to writhe in pain (and pleasure) resulted in the most engaging and emotionally impactful scenes of the movie.
“Nosferatu (2024):” ★★★★★