Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a haunting reimagining of the classic vampire tale, plunging audiences into a gothic world of sin, sacrifice, and spiritual reckoning. Anchored by stellar performances and evocative visuals, the film transcends its horror roots to explore humanity’s eternal battle with darkness, making it one of the most thought-provoking and visually arresting films of 2024.
A Stellar Cast in a Timeless Tale
Willem Dafoe delivers one of the most unforgettable lines of the year as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz: “I have wrestled with the devil as Jacob wrestled the angel in peril. And I tell you, if we are to tame darkness, we must first face that it exists.” His character serves as the bridge between the tangible and the mystical, offering a sharp counterpoint to the horrors unfolding in the fictional town of Wisborg. Dafoe’s zany yet profound performance lends levity and depth, punctuating the film’s brooding narrative with memorable insights.
As Ellen Hutter, Lily-Rose Depp portrays a woman caught in a psychic battle with darkness. While Depp’s performance captures Ellen’s torment vividly, her character’s near-constant agony creates emotional distance, leaving viewers struggling to fully connect. Even so, her ultimate confrontation with the predatory Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) is a powerful climax, albeit one that feels more preordained than transformative.
Skarsgård’s Orlok is the film’s standout. Eschewing the aristocratic allure of earlier Dracula iterations, he becomes a feral force of nature — grotesque and terrifying. Skarsgård’s guttural voice and menacing presence make Orlok a primal embodiment of evil, rivaling Max Schreck’s original portrayal while carving a new legacy in vampire lore.
A Visual and Thematic Masterpiece
Eggers’ Nosferatu remains faithful to the spiritual underpinnings of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 original, which grappled with humanity’s capacity for light and salvation. Jarin Blaschke’s monochromatic cinematography plunges viewers into a supernatural realm where gas lamps flicker like ghostly halos and cobblestones shimmer with icy foreboding. The meticulously crafted setting, from plague-ridden streets to the chilling Carpathian mountains, envelops audiences in a world where darkness feels omnipresent.
Symbolism abounds, from crucifixes warding off Orlok’s malevolence to nuns nursing the ailing Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), offering glimpses of grace in a bleak landscape. These spiritual undertones give the film its soul, framing the horror as more than grotesque imagery — it’s a moral and existential reckoning.
A Fresh Perspective with Flaws
Eggers takes liberties with his characters, notably deepening Ellen’s psychic connection to Orlok. While this adds psychosexual tension, it also distances her from the audience, making her sacrifice feel less relatable compared to the selfless Ellen of the original. Critics like Fangoria’s Richard Newby see this as a commentary on women historically dismissed as “hysterical,” but a greater emotional range might have made her arc more impactful.
Von Franz, on the other hand, provides a refreshing counterbalance. Dafoe’s lines — such as “We are not so enlightened as we are blinded by the gaseous light of science!” — resonate in a world still grappling with its trust in institutions. His performance not only adds humor but also reinforces the film’s philosophical depth.
A Triumph of Meaning and Mood
Eggers’ Nosferatu doesn’t shy away from horror’s visceral side, delivering grotesque imagery — plague-infested rats, rivers of blood, and contorted bodies — to remind us that confronting evil is neither clean nor easy. Yet beneath its terrifying surface lies a meditation on humanity’s struggle with sin, redemption, and the enduring power of light.
This moral clarity, juxtaposed against a modern cinematic landscape often sympathetic to darkness, sets Nosferatu apart. Eggers invites us to face evil as it is, unvarnished and uncompromising, and challenges us to seek the light that overcomes it.
