Nosferatu review: "Bill Skarsgård is unrecognizable in this gothic horror with bite"

Director Robert Eggers’ new Nosferatu is a long-awaited adaptation of a much-told tale that typifies much of his trademark filmmaking. It’s a relatively straight re-telling of the gothic story of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, in Eggers’ own inimitable style while at the same time feeling incredibly safe. If what you wanted from this revamp was the classic Dracula narrative feeling exactly like it was directed by Robert Eggers, that’s very much what you get.

Technically, Nosferatu is a wonder. Eggers’ films are well known for their authenticity and stunning visuals and, working again with his frequent collaborators, director of photography Jarin Blaschke and production designer Craig Lathrop, he has created a bold spectacle of 1800s Europe. The film is a grand vision, once again employing breathtaking lighting to create much of its dread: even daytime scenes feel overwhelmed by the dark shadow of the monster. The film’s sound design veers from subtle to assaulting – I absolutely recommend watching Nosferatu at the cinema with the best audio you can find to experience its cacophony.

Gothic downpours and frigid snow – yes, Nosferatu is a Christmas movie – saturate the action, with visual nods to the original 1922 F.W. Murnau classic and even Japanese ghost tales like Kuroneko (1968) evident in their inspiration, and from the opening scene, where Lily-Rose Depp’s heroine Ellen Hutter first encounters the hypnotic Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), it’s clear that we’re in for an arresting exploration of passion and terror. By the time the title card was launched screaming onto the screen I was already grinning from ear to ear.

Unnatural desire

Themes of love, sex and compulsion suffuse vampire stories, and Eggers’ Nosferatu is no different. The romance between newly-weds Ellen and Nicholas Hoult’s Thomas, torn asunder by ambition and a demanding real-estate client, has been well rendered and Depp and Hoult capture the couple’s desires and dedication convincingly. But of course the most enduring obsession is between Orlok and Ellen, and Eggers and Skarsgård have created a new version of the Count who effectively personifies all his enthralling horror. However, the sexuality of the film has little time for longing; I didn’t find this a horny movie, despite what I’d been promised, and I’ll certainly be returning to films like John Badham’s 1979 Dracula or Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 version for a dose of compelling passion and desire, before Eggers’ Nosferatu.

Skarsgård’s Orlok is genuinely scary. His appearance isn’t a carbon copy of Max Schreck’s or Klaus Kinski’s iconic looks from the 1922 film or Werner Herzog’s 1979 version of Nosferatu, all bat ears and rodent teeth, and neither does he embody the suave appeal of Dracula as played by Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee or Gary Oldman. Rather, he is a hulking vision of the undead, and reports of Skarsgård being unrecognizable in the role are entirely founded. He brings no warmth, no charm to his Orlok, and this is to his credit. He is monstrous in so many senses of the word, portraying the callous nature of the ancient evil of Nosferatu without playing into the tragic version of the figure that we’ve seen in Dracula adaptations like Coppola's; although the signature look has gone, Skarsgård’s Orlok is drawing on the cruelty and malice of true evil of the previous Nosferatu incarnations.

Along with a decent number of well-earned jump scares, the horror of the vampire comes from dark blood, unspeakable acts, oppressive shadows and terrified, convulsing victims. The vampire’s curse is performed as a type of possession, with talk of demons and the occult, and at times the film tips over into exorcism territory.

Impressive ensemble

Nosferatu boasts an impressive ensemble cast with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin as the friends caught up in a horrifying fate, Willem Dafoe as the lively alchemist/occultist Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, Ralph Ineson as the cynical Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, and Simon McBurney as Thomas’ estate agent boss and Orlok’s doomed acolyte Knock. All turn in stirring performances but it’s Skarsgård, Dafoe and McBurney who steal the show for me.

Depp is also superb, hopefully putting to bed any nay-sayers who doubted her ability to carry such a meaty role. She more than convinces as both the pining, anxious wife and the bewitched casualty of Orlok’s curse, and, as the film plays out, she steps into the part of determined heroine with aplomb.

If anything does Ellen a disservice, it’s the film’s approach to her strength and femininity. Although there’s some sharp dialogue that pays tongue-in-cheek reference to the kinds of attitudes - both medical and societal – of the times, it is undermined by some third act choices that veer away from Eggers’ previous success with The Witch in the realm of ‘good for her’ horror. It feels like a wasted opportunity from the director to do something more subversive with his modern re-telling of this pitch-black gothic fairytale.

The new Nosferatu is a success; it looks and sounds stunning, is packed with the vampiric horror you’d hope for from the director of such atmospheric works as The Witch and The Lighthouse, is beautifully performed and competently retells a narrative we all know and love. But perhaps this last point is also what stops it from being a perfect movie: it’s solid, but it does very little to push any boundaries of what could be done to bring the ultimate vampire story up to date.

Nosferatu is released in US theaters on December 25 and UK cinemas on January 1, 2025. For more upcoming movies, check out our guide to upcoming horror movies.