'Nosferatu' Review: Robert Eggers Delivers Horror Highlight of the Year
‘Nosferatu’ in traditional fashion for the director is extremely singular and bound to polarize audiences.
There are deviances here, risks there, and overall, this is not simply a film for folks looking for a repeat of either previous vampiric extravaganza. This is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. And that’s a good thing.
Casting rumors and potential changes aside, the final result that’s been delivered to the box office in Nosferatu is one of original horror. Not everyone is going to latch on and love this thing, but there’s something about a film that guarantees controversy in that way that is not only appealing, but that is good for the art and cinematic space in general.
All of that comes down to the narrative. Eggers pushes the emotional and romantic aspect with this story far more than even the trailers suggest; this is still horror first, as the opening sequence makes clear, but there is a strong underlying love throughout it all that’ll surely conflict the hearts of many.
Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsġard are at the core of that conflict, and each of them put in award-worthy performances. Skarsġard’s Count Orlok specifically marks yet another immediately infamous, cosmetics-fueled character for him; the special effects work elevates what is already a magnificent turn into an unforgettable display of torrential terror.
Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson also rock the (spooky medieval castle) block in supporting roles, where Hoult especially is given extra time to blossom under the wicked wing of Orlok’s command. He balances unbridled rage and unrequited fear with fantastic, effortless ease.
He and Taylor-Johnson spend much of the first half of the film in a back and forth that can only end one way, and what results is Hoult’s (Thomas Hutter) slow maddening at the discovery of Orlok’s poorly hidden secret. For that, you’ll just have to see for yourself — and you must.
In addition to that subplot, Orlok’s overarching goal is to make his way to Depp’s Ellen Hutter, Thomas’ wife, in a one-sided journey towards sacrificial love. The story twists and turns so often that it becomes difficult to describe at length without delving splaying it all out, but be assured that what Eggers has in store is both memorable and properly challenging for the right audience.
Queries about destiny and love linger below a steely black surface of bubbling bile and crimson blood. Above all else, and worthy of extended mention, is the aesthetic and visual achievement that is Nosferatu. Eggers’ movies look notoriously good, but this is by far and away his most striking accomplishment on that front yet.
He teams up with usual cinematographic collaborator Jarin Blaschke to forge a look framed by haunting willows and underlaid with suggestive misty waters. Dark colors dominate a world with little light, and where light does show up, there’s always a catch bound to it.
The way the film’s look collaborates with the narrative to a tee is a new accomplishment all in itself. Orlok’s whispered words seep through the screen and impact it heavily; what he says goes, and you feel it, and see it, down to the bitter end.
Where Nosferatu falters is where Eggers seemingly almost chooses to, as usual. The film feels overlong, and a tad self-obsessed. A bit too much time is spent meandering apart from the main happenings, wherein Orlok’s impact is only felt from a distance; after a while, you’d just like to get down to it, even if the distractions still look and feel basically pleasing.
Orlok is what makes this thing run, in the end. It lives, breathes, stutters and dies by him, and even considering the hiccups the film does a good job overall in understanding that. When he’s not seen, again, he’s at the very least felt.
This is probably Eggers’ most straightforward film in that manner and overall. Is it a more commercial approach? In some ways, but it benefits this narrative specifically in that way, and could have even more so with a little improved focus.
But to harp on where the film does fall short is a severe injustice to all that it does well. Nosferatu is easily one of the best offerings of the year, and as we go to close it out, it should go down as one of the most memorable by far.
It also may truly be Eggers’ best film yet. He fired on all cylinders here and delivered a spirited modern rendition of a classic story that belongs in the same hallowed halls as the 1922 original from which it was wrought. Nosferatu is must-see by all measures.