‘Nosferatu’ is a Dark Gothic Tale of Vampire Nightmares

Nosferatu

★ ★ ★

The cinematography in ‘Nosferatu’ is quite fantastic. It’s one of the best films of recent memory when it comes to capturing darkness. The camera mostly lives in the shadows, putting us right in its subjects’ despair. The color grading removes any vibrancy, which works brilliantly. This movie is, at least on the surface, about death. The final presentation exhibits this profoundly.

As the movie starts, we see Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) in her chambers at night, calling out to someone – or something – we can’t see. That something answers back in a voice from the pit of hell. It asks her to give herself fully to it, which she agrees. We then see a shadow appear through the white, sheer curtains as it enters her room to consummate their covenant.

Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter
© 2024 Focus Features

Flash forward two years later as a title card tells us it’s 1838 in the fictional German town of Wisborg. Ellen and her new husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) have just returned from their honeymoon, and Thomas is heading into work. He’s up for a promotion at the local real estate firm. When he leaves, Ellen gets a premonition that he will get the position.

Thomas is promoted. His first line of business is to make a six-week journey to Transylvania to sell an old castle in Wisborg to Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Orlok lives in a large, mostly empty Transylvanian castle. He looks old and decrepit. Upon meeting with him, Thomas begins to feel as if he’s under Orlok’s influence and has some serious dark thoughts and dark visions.

Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter
© 2024 Focus Features

After the contract is signed, Thomas is trapped in the castle, and Orlok is packed in a coffin on a boat to Wisborg to take ownership of his property and claim his covenant with Ellen. Thomas must make his way back, convince his family and town authorities that Orlok is coming and try to save Ellen from his clutches.

This isn’t a scary film, even though it’s dark, brooding and unsettling. It’s violent and bloody, but not over-the-top for a film like this. It’s sexually charged, and I suspect there’s a deeper meaning to that if one were to take time to reflect post-viewing.

It’s also much longer than it needs to be. The runtime is 133 minutes, but there are moments when it drags. In a film of intense darkness, pacing is crucial. That’s where this one stumbles the most.

Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Dberhart von Franz
© 2024 Focus Features

Orlok’s dialogue also became annoying and tedious. The Count talks so slowly, and with such a thick Transylvanian accent, he’s difficult to understand. Maybe that’s just the way vampire Counts talk in Transylvania.

That aside, the acting was very good, and the characters’ plight is well established and relatable.

Fans of the vampire genre will not be disappointed, nor will most filmgoers.

Horror