Succumb to the Darkness.
The release of this movie feels appropriate in many ways, as we plunge into 2025.
We once again revisit the story of a hideous, decrepit, bloodsucking, filthy rich creep who brings corruption, pestilence and sexual assault down upon the innocent masses just trying to live their lives in peace. A tale as old as time.
The original Nosferatu was an unauthorized German adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, made by F.W. Murnau. Now auteur filmmaker Robert Eggers has given it an update for a contemporary audience.
I’ve not seen the original or any other Nosferatu related project. I am familiar with Dracula, though. And if you are too then the story of Nosferatu should be well-known territory. Especially if you've seen the Francis Ford Coppola film, Bram Stoker's Dracula. This movie follows many of the same beats, though it has a much darker, more explicit tone and focuses on different elements.
In Germany of 1838, Ellen Hutter is plagued by a supernatural presence at the same time her husband, Thomas, is sent away to Transylvania to sell a piece of real estate to the sinister Count Orlok. It isn’t long before Ellen, Thomas and the people in their lives are all drawn into the Count’s gothic and nightmarish world, falling prey to his monstrous desires.
Dark and dirty things ensue.
I was excited to see this, as I usually am now when I find out Robert Eggers is making another movie. And I’m thankful that I was able to see it in the theater. This, maybe more than any of Eggers’s other films, is enhanced by a big screen and surround sound in a darkened room. It adds tremendously to the atmosphere of dread, impenetrable darkness and claustrophobic horror that Nosferatu is dealing in.
That said, much like Longlegs earlier in the year, this version of Nosferatu is effective not because it’s “one of the scariest movies ever made,” but because it is a beautiful exercise of cinematic skill and artistry. I felt similarly after seeing his last film, The Northman. These aren't movies that are breaking new ground, particularly in the case of Nosferatu being the umpteenth retelling of the Dracula story. However, they are expertly made movies that do what they do quite well.
Nosferatu may not be very original, but it's radiating with the kind of cinematic language and power that draws a viewer in.
Eggers's writing and direction is as deft as ever, with the eerily convincing presentation of bygone worlds and cultures, the way people speak and dress and carry themselves. On a technical level, this film is an especially brilliant example of lighting, with many scenes that revel in toying with the viewer's perspective by shifting light and darkness.
As usual, the actors in Eggers' films are given a lot of room to flex their moves in creative ways. Nicholas Hoult goes through several dramatic stages of fear throughout the movie, often informing or mirroring the viewer's own reactions to what's onscreen. As expected, Willem Dafoe is a delight to watch as the film's Van Helsing counterpart, Professor Von Franz. Aaron Taylor Johnson and Emma Corrin both do well as Ellen and Thomas's friends, the Hardings, who are probably meant to be the audience surrogates as they spend most of the movie watching insane things happen to the protagonists. I'd only seen Lily-Rose Depp in a couple of things before this, but her performance is the most striking and I imagine she had some of the most demanding scenes to film.
And, of course, the film wouldn't work as well as it does if it didn't have a good monster. Bill Skarsgard's Orlok is a damn good monster. I liked him in this role more than when he played Pennywise in IT, and I liked him in IT. Orlok is much more subdued and covert, but the character is more nuanced and imposing. In terms of appearance, this version of the character is a bit like a cross between the aristocratic look of Bram Stoker's Dracula and the explicitly demonic look of the original Nosferatu. I also like that they make use of Skarsgard's height; Orlok might be the biggest vampire I've seen in a movie. But the ways in which they portray his malevolent powers and influence is even creepier than his actual appearance.
A modern audience just out looking for a fun movie that scares them may end up disappointed, as the film isn't that scary. However, for those who enjoy movies for their craft and artistry as well as their entertainment factor, Nosferatu has a lot that's worth appreciating.
Rats and wolves:
* I should also mention that the film's real element of horror, beyond atmosphere and the theme of corruption, is its portrayal of lust. As usual, vampirism is displayed as a decadently sexual act and the vampire itself as a sexual predator. This is always present but often understated in most vampire fiction. The new Nosferatu is quite open about it. Ellen Hutter is a pure soul who is haunted and tempted by the evil Count Orlok, whose ultimate goal in the film is to ensnare her and make her his. The dark link between them is perverse and seen by Ellen as shameful. It's such a pronounced part of the story that one could argue that Nosferatu is actually a very grim erotic thriller.
* This is the third time Willem Dafoe and Ralph Ineson have appeared in a Robert Eggers movie.
* Apparently, no CGI or visual effects were added to the scenes of Lily-Rose Depp experiencing bizarre epileptic fits. If that's true, wow.
* All the actors here are bringing their A game, but particularly memorable was Simon McBurney as Herr Knock, Nosferatu's version of the Renfield character.
* As far as comparisons, I did think this movie was more effective than Coppola's Dracula film, although I think that film had better versions of the Dracula and Van Helsing characters. Skarsgard and Dafoe are great, of course, but Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins' performances are hard to beat.
* Maybe a weird concern, but I hope none of the rats were harmed during the making of this movie.
Quotes:
Ellen Hutter: “It was our wedding, yet not in chapel walls. The scent of lilacs was strong in the rain… and when I reached the altar, you weren’t there… Standing before me, all in black… was… Death. But I was so happy, so very happy. We exchanged vows, we embraced, and when we turned round, everyone was dead. Father… and… everyone… The stench of their bodies was horrible… it overwhelmed the lilacs… and… But I had never been so happy as that moment… as I held hands with Death.”
Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz: “I have seen things in this world that would make Isaac Newton crawl back into his mother’s womb! We are not so enlightened as we are blinded by the gaseous light of science. I have wrestled with the Devil as Jacob wrestled with the Angel in Penuel, and I tell you that if we are to tame darkness, we must first face that it exists!”
Count Orlok: “I am an appetite, nothing more.”
Four out of five rat plagues.
Oh, wow! This is the Northman guy?!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
I have the original silent film on DVD and it's creepy and eerie, and works amazingly well even today. You make this version sound quite good, and if it focuses more on story and atmosphere than shocks or gore, it sounds like one I need to see.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this defiantly old-school gothic horror tale. I have not seen the original, but having read the wikipedia page, it sounds like it was pretty faithful to the plot of the older film. The look of the film with all the shadow play and use of black & white filming and heavy filters also seems to draw on the German expressionist style.
ReplyDelete@Morella, I just watched The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari--Have you seen it?
@Morella,
I have not, but I do want to! I want to see it and Golem too. Son of Frankenstein, which is next on my Universal classics review tour isn't silent, but it does have some German expressionism in its style too, which I rather like how it looks.
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