The film opens in beautifully lensed darkness then to our main character Ellen Hutter (dressed all in white, a clear metaphor for her actions as the heroine of the story) woken from her nightmares by a deep voice powerfully calling her. We follow as she walks to this untold obsession. The opening is unnerving & frighteningly erotic, masterfully setting the tone. Director Robert Eggers always true to his artistic vision breathes life into his setting of 1838 Germany with lush but grey colours evoking untold darkness upon these characters.
The story of course, is a remake of the silent 1922 german expressionist film influenced strongly by Dracula. Rather than make a straight remake Eggers treats us to something more uniquely modern with craft and care.
The performances by the whole cast are uniformly excellent, I have to give a special mention to Simon McBurney as Herr Knock he truly gives himself over to the dark side. There’s a couple of moments where he was making myself look away. Willem Dafoe has one of the funniest lines in cinema this year! The stand out performance for me is Lilly-Rose Depp. She is astonishing in a soulful haunting performance that makes you truly root for her. Bill Skarsgård is her equal, unrecognisable but ever so menacing and frankly it could have been silly! Eggers creates this vampire not as a mere monster, more as a realistic take on a tragic nobleman doomed to be a monster.
The score, impeccable cinematography, costuming, production design, sound and editing make Nosferatu aesthetically one of the best horror films made in this century. There is a scene that for whatever reason stuck with me greatly. I wouldn’t describe it as one of the most showy. Instead it was rather simple but technically impeccable, tracking Ellen & Thomas walking through the streets of the town only most of the inhabitants dead on the ground and rats running free in complete control – it’s masterfully constructed. The key that makes it great is Ellen is holding up Thomas carrying him, again she is the heart and soul.
Nosferatu is mesmerizingly blood curdling right up to its haunting final frame.
Reviewed by Scott Everid
