I vant to suck your blood.”
You have to admit, for a bloodthirsty monster, Dracula’s request is refreshingly straight-forward.
There’s no ancient riddles, no monstrous roars, just a clear explanation of what he’d like from us.
Of course, it’s my duty as a film critic to point out that the famous line is never actually said in the original 1931 “Dracula.” Nor is it said in “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” the 1922 film that inspired this month’s review.
“Nosferatu (2024),” directed by Robert Eggers, is a remake of that original 1922 German silent film that adapted Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” novel and is considered by many to be the father of the horror movie genre.
Of course, I “vant” to give a bit of my own background on director Eggers’ films.
As I’ve mentioned before, Eggers’ 2015 debut feature film “The VVItch” is one of my all-time favorite horror movies and one of my favorite movies in general.
From there, he followed that up with another of my favorites: 2019’s “The Lighthouse” starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe.
Eggers’ third feature, “The Northman”, also delighted, even if it didn’t match the level of the first two on my personal all-time list.
And so it was that, like our fateful movie hero in this film, I headed into the dark for what awaited me and to see if Eggers could manage to go four for four of great movies.
I’m glad to say he did.
Like Dracula’s bloodthirsty request, Egger’s “Nosferatu” is a wonderfully straight-forward film.
In an age where many modern horror movies can feel like “The Notebook” with a monster tacked on the end, “Nosferatu” wastes little time setting up its spooky premise.
In 1830s Germany, young real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) is tasked by his employer to travel to Transylvania to secure an estate deal with the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård.)
His departure is pained, however, as he has to leave behind his wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) who has lately been racked by anxiety and visions that have troubled her since childhood.
Sure enough, Thomas finds nothing but trouble in Transylvania as it is revealed that Ellen’s tormented visions are Orlok haunting her and, having now secured a home in Germany, the count is planning to travel there and take her for his own.
So there we have it: a monster, a maiden and her husband left to save her. You can’t get much better of a set-up than that.
That being said, I will admit that I saw comments online criticizing the film for being a little too thin plot wise.
As I said, that did leave me wondering if this would be the first Eggers film to disappoint, but that was definitely not the case.
But I can see where some of the criticism might stem from: this is an adaptation of a literally century-old silent film after all. Movies have changed a lot since then.
I went into the theater for this review having not watched the original — which is available to watch free on YouTube. But after watching it afterward, I found that Eggers made an incredibly faithful adaptation and where some might find it old-fashioned, I see that as the film’s strength.
Like the original, many scenes of Eggers’ version can feel like actors in a stage play. But what a beautifully crafted play it is.
Eggers lets his actors roam and explore their settings. A character wanders a mansion at night with only a candle in hand. Thomas races frantically around Orlok’s castle. Our heroes wade through a room carpeted in squirming rats.
That’s not to say it’s all style over substance though. Lily-Rose Depp gives a deeply tragic performance as Ellen, the character’s warnings of the coming vampire dismissed as a troubled woman’s mania and treated with opiates and bed rest.
And when the blood-sucking does start, well, let’s just say it’s not hidden behind a cloak.
So for any horror fan looking for a chilling, thoughtful vampire movie that pays wondrous tribute to a horror movie classic, I can’t recommend this one enough.
I give “Nosferatu (2024)” 5 stars out of 5.
Have you seen “Nosferatu (2024)”? What did you think? Email Ben Rowe at browe@pressrepublican.com with your thoughts and takeaways.