Dracula is one of the most adapted characters on screen, and though writer-director Robert Eggers’ (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) passion project, Nosferatu, was inspired by F.W. Murnau’s 1922 iconic silent film (the famously unauthorised rip-off of Bram Stoker’s novel) that he watched as child, he does also seem to reference other iterations of the source material.
The film begins with a bracing primal scene in a strange hinterland with Lily-Rose Depp’s Ellen being drawn to the dark figure known as Count Orlok (a moustachioed Bill Skarsgård growling in ancient tongues and deep tones from under prosthetics). From the start it is Ellen’s story of imprisonment when it comes to societal standards and desires that leads the narrative and Depp’s performance is psychically impressive as she gamely embraces both the gothic melodrama and J-horror style Butoh and The Exorcist writhing the role demands.
A fresh-faced Nicholas Hoult plays Ellen’s devoted husband, Thomas who sets out to the castle to settle a property deal with Orlok, leaving his wife in the hands of Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna Harding (Emma Corrin). When Thomas disappears, they bring in the wonderfully named Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe who brings a mischievous Hammer Horror energy to the film with his commanding delivery of lines and poetic prose) to try and save the day. Dafoe’s performance is a real beacon of light amid all the darkness and repression.
Eggers and his team’s attention to detail when it comes to score, editing, costume design and lighting is immaculate. Nods to German expressionism and the impeccable shadow work of silent films is mesmerising to watch and some of the twists and reveals are delivered with shockingly rendered horror. It’s a reimagining that locks onto specific folkloric elements similar to Werner Herzog’s remake and embraces the nightmarish languor of Francis Ford Coppola’s version all whilst still maintaining an enticing degree of originality.
Eggers pummels the viewer with rich film history, getting a bit lost at points and certain Bergmanesque beach scenes occasionally fall flat. Yet overall, it’s a painstakingly crafted dark fairy-tale and psychosexual symphony of orgasmic breaths, howling winds and sweaty longing for flesh, full of exciting performances and deliciously macabre imagery. A feast for the senses.
Nosferatu is out in cinemas on 1 January
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