Acclaimed director Robert Eggers(The Witch, The Lighthouse) has taken a swing at adapting the silent horror, Nosferatu, but his hyped remake fails to reach the heights of the original.
Nosferatu follows Ellen Hutter(Lily-Rose Depp), a young woman that forms an other worldly connection with an ancient vampire known as Count Orlok(Bill Skarsgård). Their relationship is at the heart of the film and much of the terror comes from Lily-Rose Depp’s disturbing acting.
Unlike the original film, Eggers devoted most of the run-time to exploring Ellen Hutter and her strange connection to Orlok. It’s a change that separates both films clearly. Unfortunately, it’s less effective than Orlok’s haunting presence in the original film.
“I am nothing but appetite”
Image credit: Universal Pictures
Nosferatu is as much a horror film as it is a period piece. A great amount of detail is put into the sets and costuming as well as the general atmosphere of each location. From the delipidated rooms of Orlok’s castle, to the cramped streets of Wisborg, the mix of sets and on-site locations are stunning.
The locations add to the ominous atmosphere of the film, and that atmosphere is what makes Nosferatu special. It falls in line with the original films atmosphere – it’s both overwhelming and draining. But there’s also a sense of hope and brevity when dawn finally breaks.
Perhaps the biggest change in Eggers’ Nosferatu is the presence of a soundtrack. Since F.W Murnau’s lacked any sound all the music for the remake was made purely originally. The score was composed by Robin Carolan. He previously collaborated with Eggers on The Northman and his work has improved tremendously with the Nosferatu score.
Carolan’s score does a great at heightening the tension in many scenes, with the best example coming close to the end of the film when Thomas Hutter(Nicholas Hoult) is running down the streets of Wisborg.
The cast features many familiar faces with Lily-Rose Deep and Nicholas Hoult playing the leads as Ellen and Thomas Hutter. But the star power doesn’t end there. Aaron Taylor Johnson stars as Friedriech, a close friend of the Hutter’s. And most memorably Bill Skarsgård steals the show as Count Orlok.
Another highlight of the film comes courtesy of Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, an old man that knows far more about the occult than he cares to discuss.
Between adaptations Count Orlok changes the most. His reason for coming to Germany remains the same but the way he travels and interacts with the characters is very different. He is a vampire and holds all the power you’d usually expect a vampire to have. But, he’s got a couple of tricks that are as disgusting as they are interesting.
Eggers goes out of his way to show the audience how disgusting Orlok is with his gross design as well as his very explicit actions. Orlok at multiple points assaults characters and the camera often lingers on his violence. These scenes are hard to watch but they do a good job at showing just how depraved Orlok truly is.
“My dreams grow darker”
Image credit: Universal Pictures
The pacing of Nosferatu is its weakest element with many sequences clearly edited down to fit the just over two hour run time. Moments that deserve more time finish quickly and it’s especially clear during Thomas Hutter’s time in Orlok’s castle. The sequence lasts just over twenty minutes, but some key moments aren’t given enough time to breathe.
Nosferatu isn’t a remake of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror because Eggers changed the story to make his version unique and nowhere near similar to Bram Stokers Dracula. Though the core DNA of Nosferatu is heavily borrowed from Dracula, Eggers’ version has new characters and the old characters are given whole new personalities, the most obvious of which is Friedriech.
Aaron Taylor Johnson’s performance as Friedriech is very understated but he delivers a very powerful display of love and grief. He doesn’t have much screen time, but he stands out as one of the most realistic characters.
A lot of attention has been given to Lily-Rose Depp, rightfully so. Her line delivery is near perfect and her body contortion is very reminiscent of Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist. However, the changes done to Ellen’s character leave Depp’s performance in a strange middle ground.
The biggest issue with Nosferatu comes with its depiction of sexual assault. It’s a core part of the horror and, though Eggers’ tries to craft an interesting way of portraying it, it fails to leave the correct impact. The scenes of assault are lingered upon and not a lot is left to the audience’s interpretation.
What made the original so scary was its subtle display of real horror. Max Schrek’s Count Orlok wasn’t ever fully shown harming or interacting with any of the characters. He was beyond comprehension and the horror of his actions spoke for themselves. Whereas Skarsgård’s Orlok is very overt in his displays of violence.
Eggers’ version delves more into the violence and never cuts from what Orlok does to his victims, it’s a very different way to show his evil but compared to Schrek’s ominous haunting terror, there’s no comparison.
“His Lordship likes the pretty ones best”
Image credit: Universal Pictures
The legacy of Nosferatu is incredible and Eggers’ interpretation, whilst not as effective, stands as another great retelling of 1922 classic.
As a period piece Nosferatu is incredibly wonderful and the inclusion of a plaque makes the third act horror far more effective, leading straight into the tragic ending.Nosferatu is not Robert Eggers’ best work, but it’s another great film in his growing horror repertoire.
If period pieces and classic horror is your thing, check out Nosferatu. But the silent original, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, is well worth your time. It’s both a piece of film history and a horror classic.
Featured image credit: Universal Pictures
Fourth year Film and Journalism student
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