This post may contain affiliate links, which earn us commission. Learn more.
Spoilers Ahead
I’m a big fan of Dracula horror. Namely the Bela Lugosi classic from 1931. But whenever a new interpretation of the blood-sucking ghoul is fleshed out in movie form, I’m all over it. I’m also a fan of Robert Eggers films – namely the mood that is set with his cinematography – or actually Jarin Blaschke’s cinematography, as he has been a long time collaborator with Eggers.
See where Nosferatu ranks in our top 100 movies to watch right now.
So when I heard that Eggers was working on a version of Nosferatu with Bill Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe, and Nicholas Hoult, I was ecstatic. I hadn’t seen Lily-Rose Depp in anything so she wasn’t much of a draw for me.
When the film was released the reviews were off the charts fantastic – praising Eggers for a brilliant, moody, sometimes terrifying vampire film.
Then I Saw it
First, as expected, I loved the cinematography and score. Moody and complex, floating and sometimes original. A good handful of shots seemed to be pulled directly from the original Nosferatu (silent version) and possibly from Dracula (1931) and Brams Stoker’s Dracula (1992).
But here’s the thing. Eggers is not a great writer. There were quite a few scenes where the characters reactions were unmotivated, some lines, well, people just don’t talk that way, and occasionally you can feel an actor acting which is never a good sign.
The Acting Was All Over The Place
Lilly-Rose Depp was tolerable. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Friedrich Harding) I could feel struggling. Willem Dafoe was one-note. Nicholas Hoult was mostly solid with Bill Skarsgard’s Count Orlok being the biggest achievement of the film.
As the film progressed, it became more and more clear what Count Orlok actually wanted. He didn’t want to enslave Germany (yes, this version partially takes place there), he didn’t want to expand his real estate empire, or suck the entire country dry – he was just horny. Horny for Ellen (Depp). And spoilers – in the end, that’s exactly what he got. And in the finale of the film, he was essentially sexed to death.
Does that sound like a let down? It should. I left the theater disappointed, even betrayed by someone [Eggers] who I thought was refining his craft with every film. Sadly, I was wrong.
NerdScore
6.4/10
Nosferatu (2024) Review
Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu drips with gothic atmosphere and nightmarish visuals, but its slow burn pacing and uneven storytelling may divide audiences expecting a sharper bite.
A reimagining of the 1922 silent classic, Nosferatu follows the cursed vampire Count Orlok as he preys upon a haunted young woman in 19th-century Europe, weaving obsession, dread, and death into its gothic tapestry.
IMDb
7.2/10
Metacritic
78/100
Rotten Tomatoes
84%