Review | Nosferatu

✭✭✭✭
Director: Robert Eggers
Starring: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Release Year: 2024

…a dark, gorgeous vampire film unlike any other, one that draws you under its spell and doesn’t let go.

There is only shadow and light in Robert Eggers’ new take on Nosferatu. The colors that pop off the screen range from navy to gray, black to white, with flashes of orange embers and midnight black. Through this palette, Eggers makes it clear that his goal isn’t to simply terrify but to craft an atmosphere of relentless dread. The weight of that dread presses down on the viewer, an Eggers signature, where shocking imagery and a looming sense of doom pervade the narrative. This version of Nosferatu is a reimagining — a dark, gorgeous vampire film unlike any other, one that draws you under its spell and doesn’t let go.

The story itself has been told countless times before — the 1922 silent classic with the haunting Max Schreck, the lush version by Francis Ford Coppola, Werner Herzog’s atmospheric remake, and other adaptations like The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which explores Dracula’s ill-fated voyage to London, or Shadow of the Vampire (2000), a film about the making of the original Nosferatu. Nosferatu and Dracula are staples of cinema, timeless tales that never lose their grip on the imagination.

In this retelling, the main characters are Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), a recently married couple hoping to move beyond Ellen’s troubling, chaotic sleep disturbances. Thomas, eager to secure a partnership with the eccentric Knock (Simon McBurney), must travel to the remote hills of Transylvania to deliver the deed to a mysterious mansion owned by Count Orlac (a chillingly unrecognizable Bill Skarsgård). As he approaches the isolated castle, the locals’ ominous reactions hint at something sinister, and it’s not long before Thomas finds himself ensnared in an otherworldly presence — shadows, bite marks, and visions that stretch from the castle back to his beloved Ellen.

What elevates this Nosferatu is the seamless collaboration between all involved. Eggers and his cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke, fully embrace the gothic horror aesthetic, immersing us in lavish sets, intricate costumes, and masterful makeup. The cast matches the visual style with equal dedication. Lily-Rose Depp delivers her best performance to date, while Nicholas Hoult gives a wide-eyed, sweaty portrayal of a man slowly realizing his doom. Willem Dafoe, in a small but unforgettable role, proves once again that he always understands the assignment. Together, they bring the gothic world to life, fully inhabiting the period and the tension of Bram Stoker’s original text.

Nosferatu is a cinematic triumph. It’s a fully realized work from a director confident in every choice he makes. This film blends the madness of The Lighthouse, the suffocating terror of The VVitch, and the brutal fight for survival in The Northman. Eggers wraps us in darkness, pulls us into the castle, and leaves us thirsting for more. Listen closely to the voice of Nosferatu — it will lead you into the shadows, and once you’re there, you may never want to leave.

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