Visually Immaculate! - NOSFERATU

January 2, 2025

By Bessy ADUT

In my opinion, nothing compares to the original Nosferatu by F.W. Murnau or Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola, but "Nosferatu" is a great, modern gothic vampire movie in itself—one of the best movies of the year right before ending.

Here is the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulvWqYUM8k

I am very excited to write my movie review about this film - as excited as I was to see it on Christmas Day’s evening. It’s rare that I run and see a movie of the day of coming out in theaters but I had to make an exception. I am very glad that I have done so, because it was a fully packed movie theater and we enjoyed screams, laughters and applause all together. It all adds up to the interactive movie viewing experience and is worth every penny. That’s what stands out from watching on streaming, movie only came out in theaters as of now anyway.

Nosferatu

Vampire tales and films do have a special place in my heart. The movie is excellent on its own however for some audiences as myself it’s not possible to compare and contrast with the original and other adaptations. And I am sure I am not the only one who loves the vampire and gothic sub genre of horror. Ever since I was a kid, I always had an admiration for horror movies and I particularly remember how mesmerized I was after watching Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) directed by Francis Ford Coppola with Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins in the leads. I was only 10 years old then and I believe my obsession with this genre began right about then which was followed by many other films in the genre.

Another movie that popped up in my head immediately was the very original Nosferatu which I had a chance to watch when I was being film-schooled.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (German: Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens) is a 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife (Greta Schröder) of his estate agent (Gustav von Wangenheim) and brings the plague to their town. This was a black-and-white, silent movie but still managed to be extremely romantic and creepy at the same time.

I adored the gothic style and, I should say new Nosferatu that came out right when we were about to complete the year 2024 was visually excellent and loyal to the gothic horror genre features, there is no doubt about that. Even the font and style they picked for the poster shout gothic which was my specialty in my thesis. The atmosphere, production design, wardrobe, make-up overall art department did an outstanding job.

In terms of casting, I was very impressed by Lily-Rose Depp, she looks incredibly like both her mom and dad just by the way - was perfect for this role. Her best friend Emma Corrin - whom later I realized I’ve known from the great TV show “Murder at the End of the World”, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Nicholas Hoult are wonderful new talents who did their part in the movie wonderfully well. William Dafoe was a comedic relief for some reason in the theater I have seen, he got a lot of laughter, not sure if it has been the same at other places but of course, he is an excellent actor. Maybe the audience felt he was a bit out of place.

Robin Carolan’s soundtrack is also a masterpiece I should say. Music really puts you in the period and gets you through those dark, poetic, sadness & madness of all feelings.

Cinematography deserves an Academy Award nomination for sure. The cinematographer knocked down German Expressionism very well.

I hadn’t read or thought much about it before seeing the movie to be honest. I only saw the poster and trailer. I was very stoked to see it. When the movie began, after hundreds of commercials and some trailers, we got all nailed onto our seats breathlessly. With the wonderful music and visuals, it took us into its dark, magical fairytale-like world right away.

However, it was only when I saw the first scene it hit me - wait I have seen this movie before. :) At the very least the original and in my opinion, one of the best adaptations. I heard there is also a Werner Herzog adaptation which I don’t remember watching. It is the same story and screenplay. In this part, I have a tiny bit of a general complaint. Okay; It’s nice to take all the gothic genre and features but why not create something new? Tell a new story? This is wonderful but we have seen this before! The new generation can easily get to watch the originals. I wish more movies were made with such great casting, music, art department, and cinematography. All is well but isn’t it time already to create some new monsters and stories? Why do we have to keep seeing the same stories over and over again when it had already been made so well?

My other complaint is I think the vampire Dracula aka Nosferatu could have been either more seducing, charismatic, or a scarier, creepier monster such as the original. I felt like the handsome actor was wasted with that strange mustache looking repulsive. I didn’t find the monster scary but only ugly. Moustache was a big turn-off, not much charisma and I have seen similar comments from the YouTuber movie critics as well. Hope they do better with villain character design next time.

That being said, watching the movie again in my 40s is now a much different experience than when I saw it in my 10s, 20s, or 30s. Of course, every time we watch a movie, it goes through a filter of our own life experiences and that’s what happened to me too. I could relate to Ellen’s character more than ever in this viewing. How? As a woman, I remember all the times telling a man not to do something but them not listening. Being a visionary in many things but not being listened to. Ellen complaining about writing letters but not getting letters back. (cough, cough) Nobody's believing her until it’s too late. And in the end, her having to make the necessary sacrifice... The 1800s to 2024 - I see not much has changed in the narrative for women. No matter how deeply you love someone, at the end of the day, women typically have been gaslighted or not taken seriously. In terms of men, Thomas Hutter goes to this strange land and not listens to any of the warnings. And signing his life away to a monster for money. Unfortunately, that is a mistake many men do. At the end of the day, both of them make a deal with the devil. And it brings a plague to the common people. That brings the question back, was Covid really not preventable? A pandemic like that happened to us not too long ago. Could we be the ones letting the wrong people rule us and bring us pandemics? And bring them back? Just some food for thought. At the end of the day, everything is a metaphor and there is a reason why these cautionary dark fairytales are told to us over and over again.

This gothic horror film is written (adapted) and directed by Robert Eggers. I could see all the similarities with the original Dracula. Apparently, filming took place in Prague last year which is very appropriate for the setting. It was premiered in Germany. So far the movie received positive criticism praised for its direction, screenplay, cinematography and performances.

SPOILER ALERT from here on - recommended to read after watching

In terms of the known story, at the beginning of the movie, we see Ellen praying for true love however calling the wrong spirit. In the future, she lives in Germany married to a young, handsome lad and they are very in love with each other. Thomas accepts a job and goes to the dark castle. If you have seen the previous movies, it’ll all come back to you as you watch it, it’s a very familiar story.

Ellen is a bit psychic as a character and asks Thomas not to leave but to stay with her because she loves him too much. And she tells him a dream she dreamt where she was getting married to Death and corpses were the invitees. Thomas thinks all this is nonsense he says that he is doing this to secure their future, to get them a house and heads over to Orlok’s castle as a prince on a dark horse. He arrives in Transylvania, the homeland of Dracula aka Nosferatu. He comes to an inn to rest and all the peasants try to warn him about the scary legend. The scenes with Romani peasants were visually stunning and creepy. I believe they are inspired by some classic art paintings such as the nude woman on the horse. Thomas witnesses a vampire-slaying ritual during this time.

Thomas arrives at the castle the next evening and meets Orlok, Orlok drinks his blood as a way of givingaway his vampire genes. Thomas tries to kill Orlok when he realizes his intentions to get his beautiful, young bride and runs to protect her. Nuns help him get back to life.

Ellen is ill, she goes through sleepwalking and seizures. We are introduced to Wilhelm Siever, the doctor trying to treat her and his mentor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a brilliant scientist ostracized in Switzerland for his occult beliefs. Von Franz lets them know that Ellen is under the spell of the Nosferatu, a demonic, plague-bearing vampire. After some research, they learn Orlok is the Nosferatu.

The ending of the story and movie is epic. Ellen first refuses and declines Nosferatu until realizing she needs to sacrifice her body and heart to stop the plague and protect her true love. She lets Nosferatu have her body all night and feed on her heart for the morning sun to come and destroy him into dust. And that’s what happens. A tragic ending but a very heroic action on the woman character’s part. In the end, Ellen is the one who saves the day with her sacrifice. More love/light and peace on the evils please. Thank you.

9 September

A Magical Novel That Feels Real - ´Mother Doll´ by Katya Apekina

“The cook made kugel, and we lit candles, prayed and ate, without acknowledging that half the city was starving and burning, or that conversations about distant mutual acquaintances were interrupted by machine gun fire and the sound of breaking glass.”

Visually Immaculate! - NOSFERATU

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