Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’ remake is fang-tastic
With the creepy, darkly funny “Nosferatu,” writer-director Robert Eggers delivers what we’ve long been craving – a vampire flick you can really sink your teeth into. Go ahead, bite in and suck up all Eggers has to offer in revisiting F.W. Murnau’s 1922 classic interpretation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” You’ll be richly rewarded with a horror picture that’s as artistically masterful as it is unsettling.
It’s Gothic filmmaking at its best, courtesy of a dedicated student of the genre who has done his homework and pays higher honor to the legend than most of Murnau’s imitators. Where they go straight for the scares, Eggers takes a subtler approach, acknowledging the underlying pathology of a supernatural phenomenon – the vampire – that has its roots in Eastern European folklore. As was the case with his magnificent offerings “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse,” Eggers builds on his reputation as an emerging 21st-century Hitchcock, delivering stylish macabre thrillers characterized by an atmosphere of repressed sexual longing.
Staying true to the original “Nosferatu,” a landmark in German Expressionism, Eggers’ adaptation centers on the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) and the telepathic power he holds over Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), the lovely young bride of the eager estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult). It’s 1838 in the fictional town of Wisburg, Germany, and Thomas is determined to secure the couple’s financial future. Toward that end, he is dispatched by his God-fearing boss, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), to far-off Transylvania to acquire Orlok’s signature on the deed to a dilapidated manor near the Hutters.
The journey proves arduous, with many of the unwashed townsfolk Thomas encounters imploring him to avoid Orlok’s castle at all costs. But he fails to heed their warnings, leading to his first chilling encounter with the blood-sucking count. It doesn’t end well for Thomas who awakens the next morning to find two small puncture wounds in his chest. He also senses danger descending upon his beloved Ellen – unless he gets to her first.
The plot is secondary to the film’s rich aesthetic conveying Orlok’s haunting obsession and Thomas’ determination to rescue his tormented damsel. It all begins with production design by Craig Lathrop, enhanced by the cinematography courtesy of Eggers regular Jarin Blaschke. When combined with Linda Muir’s period fashions they set a mood of dread and impending death. Caskets are a staple, from the one Orlok occupies during the day to the dozens containing those who’ve fallen victim to a suspected rat-spreading plague sweeping through Wisburg.
Through it all, Thomas remains hopeful. After all, he has the assurance of the renowned Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz hilariously rendered by Willem Dafoe in the same eccentric and quirky manner as his cunning character from “The Lighthouse.” He’s the Van Helsing of the piece and he chews the scenery to marvelous effect.
The casting was a bit of a surprise for me. I imagined him as Orlok, particularly given that he scored an Oscar nod for “Shadow of the Vampire,” a making-of recreation of Murnau’s classic in which he portrayed actor Max Schreck, the gold standard for Count Orloks. I can’t help wondering how much more powerful this version might have been if Dafoe had donned the count’s fangs. No knock on Skarsgard, who after his work as the killer clown in “It,” has become the go-to horror villain. He’s fine here, croaky voice and all, but I can’t help wondering whether Dafoe would have been more distinctive.
As for Hoult and Depp, they are as perfunctory as their roles dictate. Ditto for Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emmy-winner Emma Corrin (“The Crown”) as Friedrich and Anna Harding, the devoted friends charged with watching over Ellen during a persistent melancholia triggered by her husband’s absence. All four actors are solid, albeit nondescript, as Eggers demands. For him, it’s all about the aura and creating a state of mind ideal for absorbing a fractured fairytale that is relatable to the now.
Like it or not, we’ve become a society of self-serving blood-suckers preying on the weakest among us. The metaphor lends a sense of urgency to Eggers’ film, which seeks to drive a stake through the heart of power mongers who care not about inflicting pain – as long as they get what they crave – money. Alas, in the end, Orlok discovers he’s not the greatest thing under the sun. Those damn UV rays! I don’t care, burnt to ashes or not, I’m down with the count.
Movie review
Nosferatu
Rated: R for some sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violent content
Cast: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hault, Bill Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Simon McBurney
Director: Robert Eggers
Writer: Robert Eggers
Runtime: 133 minutes
Where: In theaters Dec. 25
Grade: A-
