Nosferatu 2024 was awesome!!! Everything was great. It was scary, vicious, and, gory. Yet the action kept moving and It was like still like watching Shakespeare. Such good dialogs. Dafoe was phenomenal and Bill Skarsgård once again brought it. 5 stars. Loved it!

Nosferatu (2024) is a fine film that misses the mark slightly while still being a visually pleasing journey through dread.

The good: The scenery, lighting, and some performances created a treat for the eyes. The monster itself is imposing, memorable, and represents a powerful force of nature. Our introduction to Nosferatu in particular does an good job of creating a monster that moves like a predator just beyond our field of vision, who defies the senses and exudes power. Nicholas Hoult does a fine job as a mild-mannered but resolute lead. Ralph Ineson and Willem Defoe are a welcome couple of side characters. To top those things off, the movie itself is paced thoughtfully and deliberately toward its end. The conclusion is powerfully acted and obeys its own in-universe rules. The special and practical effects were all believable from the clothing of the bourgeious to the movie monster's long imposing fingers.

The Bad:

The performances from some characters was off-putting and created the appearance that the actors themselves did not understand the intent behind their lines. Anna Harding's performance appears as one of a high-schooler quoting Shakespeare unsuccessfully while Aaron Taylor-Johnson gave a poor performance in most scenes he was in, coming across as an impotent shadow of the character he was meant to portray.

The lore given in 2024's Nosferatu vs 1929's Nosferatu is expanded upon clumsily, such that the new lore is a mess compared to the sparse details given in the original film. In 2024's version, Lily-Rose Depp's character Ellen had been plagued by Nosferatu her entire life, which creates confusing motivational descriptions for Nosferatu, who only pursued Ellen after her marriage to Thomas (Nicholas Hoult). Atop that, the plot's resolution is strange--one crew goes on an apparently useless adventure while Ellen stays behind to save the day. 2024's version chose not to capitalize on Ellen's self-sacrifice as a 'big reveal', which does not detract from the film itself, but may be perceived as a missed opportunity to showcase strength from goodness in such a selfless way (truthfully, both Mina Harker and Ellen Hutter are characters on whom directors seem to miss capitalizing--but that's a story for another time.)

At risk of comparing 1929's version to 2024's version, a subtheme was lost involving the power of sunlight in dispelling fears, which also feels like a miss as this subtheme was not replaced by anything in the modern version.

The medium: Lilly-Depp Rose as Ellen delivers a fine performance but underdelivers at crucial moments in the film which were then compounded by confusing directional choices which made Ellen appear to be possessed at certain moments in the film. The choreography at those moments in time look awkward--not so much as to ruin the movie, but enough so that you'll be pulled a little into uncanny valley or have your immersion broken. Ellen's virtuous character is muted from the original 1929 film which is unfortunate, however Ellen's interactions with Nosferatu itself are very strong and powerfully acted, creating very high peaks and offputting lows throughout the film.

Overall: This film is gorgeous. It is worth a watch or two. It may even find itself loved among a fervent many, but it is not without it's share of problems. While I had high hopes, this movie will likely not be among those I purchase for home use despite hitting many tones I enjoy.

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Summary:

A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

Director:

Robert Eggers

Writers:

Robert Eggers, Henrik Galeen, Bram Stoker

Cast:

• Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter

• Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter

• Bill Skarsgaard as Count Orlok

• Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding

• Willem Dafoe as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz

• Emma Corrin as Anna Harding

• Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers

Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

Metacritic: 78

VOD: Theaters

Apologies if this has been posted already. Just saw Eggers’ version. Lots to like, but overall I was kind of unsatisfied. Recently rewatched Herzog’s version and I find it the superior film. Werner was able to capture such a mood and atmosphere with less.

My expectations were astronomically high going in. I loved The Witch and The Lighthouse. I am also a staunch defender of The Northman. With these three films, Eggers had, in my opinion, established himself as one of the best directors working right now. Nosferatu is an amazing story and I really had massive expectations.

First of all, let me say that Nosferatu is certainly not a bad film. I actually think it is quite good. I do think it is practically impossible for Eggers to make an actual bad film. There was a ton to like! The costumes were incredible, the set design was spectacular, and Nosferatu was incredibly chilling. McBurney, Dafoe, Depp, Corrin, Hoult, and Ineson were all amazing in this film. The atmosphere was incredible, and the score, while not as good as previous Eggers scores, was still very well made! Overall, there is a lot to love. I really enjoyed the film up until Nosferatu leaves for Germany. After that, the disappointment starts to set in.

Here is what I did not like. The story really becomes quite boring when Thomas returns to Germany for about 20 to 30 minutes. The characters wander around looking for doctors and finding out about stuff and for me it got really quite slow. Much of this could have been cut by 10 minutes or so. There was no need for this film to be over 2 hours. However, I felt there were much more glaring issues. The main issue is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who I really feel just sort of ruined the film with his really poor acting. He really stuck out like a sore thumb when compared to the other cast members. Seeing as he is an action star, this does not surprise me. His real lack of dramatic acting ability when compared to his co-stars really bugged me unfortunately.

Now I know this may be a more controversial criticism, but it really bugged me that this film didn't use German actors and was not filmed in the German language. Realistically, I don't think that Focus Features was going to sink 50 million into a German language release, but part of me really wishes that they did. I think that the film could have been so much stronger if it was. In The Witch, Eggers had his actors use 17th century English dialects. In The Lighthouse, Pattinson and Dafoe had 19th century accents as well. In regard to the use of language, I would not criticize The Northman for the same thing, because the actors can actually act. The performances in The Northman are very good and all actors are truly incredible. Had this been the same in Nosferatu, I don't think I would have had this criticism. Either have German actors or make your English speaking cast genuinely incredible at acting instead of crappy action stars who have no idea what they are doing. To me, this feels like a massive decline in quality of the casting that goes into Eggers' films.

One other phenomenon that I wanted to point out is that this was the shortest gap between any of his films. Nosferatu came out only 2 years after The Northman. I feel that had more time gone into this film and with a better cast and more attention to detail, it could have been so much better. Ultimately, my favorite version is still the Herzog which despite its many problems is a great achievement in vampire filmmaking, however Eggers' version is a blunder.​

saw it in IMAX on christmas night and I am going back on saturday and sunday. everything you expect from egger’s is painted in this film. it was immersive, beautiful, disturbing, sensual, and an anxiety ridden ride from the first shot till the end. lily-rose depp’s performance was so physically visceral and deserves its own praise. the use of shadows in each shot and in between scene transition kept me at the edge of my seat all night. those of you have seen it, where do you rank it on your egger’s list? this might be my new favorite movie by him and my favorite movie of all time in general.

Robert Eggers Nosferatu sat in a weird place in me once I left the theatre. Everything from the production design, the acting, and the cinematography was beautiful to look at and really helped set the mood of the film. My biggest problem is the direction. This movie seems to only go between two shot choices (static shots, and pans). A friend of mine told me this choice was to make the movie feel like an older film which it is able to do with its lighting, and set design. If this is the case however why is there some sequences Eggers chooses to place the camera at impossible angles like in the castle sequence.(one of my favorite parts in the movie). Along with the some plot details in the script I believe the direction led to pacing issues by not having a sense of style. I am curious to see what the director’s cut will bring.

Hello everyone!

Later tonight I will be going to the movie theatre to watch the new Nosferatu film. Despite criticism received from some of my relatives and close friends, I'm always open to giving a vampire supernatural horror film a taste.

It is directed by Robert Eggers, and I was wondering if anyone here has seen it already and has an input or opinion regarding the film.

Thanks! I appreciate all the assistance in advance! God bless

Hey guys, hope you're all doing well. I just got back from seeing Egger's take on Nosferatu and I feel conflicted on the film;

To preface, i haven't seen any of the other Nosferatu or Dracula movies/book(s) (Blasphemy, I know), so my opinion of the film is of how it stands on its own. By far the greatest things about this film is of course as I'm sure you've heard it's absolutely gorgeous visuals. My personal best looking film of the year was Dune 2 (Greg Fraiser is a genius, cmon), but this film I think is on an equal level. Shot in an epic scope when needed, but consistently intimate. Each frame looks like a dark fantasy portrait. I think if you're a fan of visuals it's a must see.

Where I feel uneven is the story. The film I think explores some intresting themes on the effects of isolation and the effects one's despondency can have on their loved ones, very intresting questions it purposes. However, I feel like they aren't explored as deeply as they could be, which is weird as I feel like this film could be 20 minutes shorter and the pacing would be improved exponentially.

The next complaint is a really generic one, but I'm sorry, I had a great deal of difficulty trying to understand what was being said in pivotal/emotional scenes where actors' aren't speaking clearly. Maybe it's on the mixing, maybe it was the very distracting couple seated directly next to be rubbing and slurping on eachother the whole godamn time (seriously I feel like it's just common manners to not do that shit in a quiet setting) but yea. Like Willem Dafoe's big monolog before ge burns down that little tomb, I had a really hard time understanding him which was a shame because his physicality was so captivating. Same thing when our two main characters were arguing when Ellen reveals to Nicholas how she first contacted the demon, which was hard to fully make out. (Side question for those more experienced with the story, is Nosferatu supposed to be an entity that possesses count orlock, or are they one in the same? If not, why did Nosferatu find it's way into Orlock, as i believe a history was given on Orlock by Willem Dafoe's character, i just couldn't hear it)

Lastly, there felt to be a degree of separation from the plot. The film at it's forefront felt to be about displaying it's Gothic ambience, which while very immersive, felt like we were watching the action and characters from a distance, if that makes sense. There felt like there was some "humanity" missing in the film. Maybe that's just part of the experience Egger was aiming for.

Like I said, the film explores some intresting ideas about the desperation that comes with isolation, but I don't feel satisfied with the exploration where were presented. I wanted to ask all of you on your interpretation of the ending, why did Ellen have to sacrifice herself for the plauge to be brought to an end? It's definitely feels more profound than a "I got us into this, so I'm gonna get us out" type beat, but I just am having troubling at grasping at what was trying to be communicated.

If I had to sum up my thoughts by giving an arbitrary number it'd be this: the film is a techincial marvel, brilliantly presented, but a few inherent issues I feel like prevent it from being Egger's best. It could've been a 9, but it stands somewhere at a comfortable 7.

(This might be controversial, I feel like Egger's best film is by far the Northman. Yes the Lighthouse is the better film "objectively", but godamn the Northman is just flat out rad as hell)

I haven't seen the original or remake, and I didn't even watch the trailer for this so I went in completely blind.

The movie was okay. Definitely NOT the best vampire movie, that title goes to 30 Days Of Night.

So in this movie, it's about a guy who is a realtor and he goes to see Nosferatu because he wants to sell him a house. He makes the sale and gets a good commission, but this Nosferatu guy is creepy and makes him sleep over until he's feeling better. While there, he finds out that this guy, the realtor who we will call Charles, is the husband of the girl he used to molest a long time ago and he is totally getting off on that shit, he wants more.

Oh yeah, before all this Charles goes to a library to work and it seems like only Hobbits live there. 2 scenes later and one of these Hobbits becomes Golum.

Nosferatu starts sniffing the amulet that Charles wife gave him, it has her hair in it. By the way, Nosferatu is basically Peter Stormare, and sounds like him too so the entire time he's talking or on screen I am thinking of Peter Stormare and laughing.

Eventually Peter Stormare gets on a boat and goes over to USA where he bought his new house. He plagues everyone up and tells Charles wife that she has to marry him in 3 days or everyone is dead meat, and he kills her friend and her kids during the days.

Finally day 3 is here. This wife lady invites Peter Stormare over to fuck her and oh my god those are huge nipples. They are like bigger than the ends on baby bottles. I've never seen anything like it, well, I have, but it was the erasere in novelty sized pencils.

Anyways, Peter Stormare is basically a corpse and he starts rucking her with his rigger mortis shift and she let's him plow her until the sun rises, which kills him and then she dies while this corpse is still stuck inside of her.

3 out of 10

Just left the screening, not a terrible film by any means.. but not a great one, not nearly. The movie had some extremely impressive cinematography. Usually when people say this I expect same old same old, but the shots leading up to Orlok's castle were vivid and pure magic in my opinion. Sadly a lot of the best shots were in the trailer, and a lot of the frights were pure jump scares. The film actually did a great job at building suspense early, but they completely failed with the monster's design. I won't spoil anything but just see it for yourself, the original monster still creeps me out and horrifies me in ways I don't understand.. this one sounds like Davy Jones from the 2nd Pirates film and uses a lot more CGI than welcomed.

The film for me was a 6.5/10 until the end when it became a 4/10.. expect some humor and animal gore, but not much else. Not to be a broken record but the scariest parts of the films are jump scares so just be ready for that.

OP from the US here.

I fell in love with the gothic horror, German-expressionist film from 1922, and was pleseantly surprised by the 1979 film. The 1979 film did justice to the movie, while not completely the same, it still seemed like a love-letter to the original.

I watched the Robert Eggers trailer, and was immediately unhappy. Nothing I saw pays homage to the original film, nothing I saw matched the gothic horror elements. Yet another mainstreamed version of a classic movie. I hope this doesn't become a trend. Every single review I saw is positive, which as a classic movie buff makes me sad. People will likely see this movie, watch the original and talk trash about the original.

When in reality, it's this movie that seems to be failing all the original themes of the original. It doesn't deserve the Nosferatu name. Now, let me go ahead and explain my gripe with that as well. In 1922, Nosferatu was shown, they did not have legal permission from the property owner (Bram Stokers wife, Florence) to make it, they are making a movie using the title of a bootlegged story. (which means nothing to German or anything at all in any language)

It's so pointless, it's such a cash grab, it follows all the standard tropes, ignoring the gothic horror and German expressionist elements by ditching it for standard cheap horror. I hope the other reviews aren't as sparing. But it doesn't matter, they probably will be good. And one of my favorite pieces of media will be misrepresented.

(Edit: don't think most of you have seen the original, or care. But this means a lot to me, I don't care it doesn't to you. To me it does)

This is on of the silliest attempts to be shocking and scary I’ve ever watched.

The dialogue is ridiculous. The vernacular is ridiculous. I mean why have them speak a pompous late 1800’s English when they’re supposed to be living in Germany? How does that make sense!? Why not just film it in German?

The over the top camera zooms, the cgi, the acting, it’s all goofy. Even the jump scares are hilarious.

People were heralding this as some new type of horror, an art house horror flick to rival the all time greats, and it’s hilariously bad. Like really bad.

But is it bad enough to watch again? Just for laughs? Because I don’t think I want to ever watch this stupid movie ever again. And yet, as I watch it, it makes me giggle. Giggle. It’s so bad. SO BAD!

But is it so bad it’s good? Because it’s really bad.

I feel like I’m watching Francis Xavier Cross’ adaptation of Dracula on IBC prime time.

Ten O’clock! Live from Germany, Hollywood, and the Carpathian Mountains… Don’t miss Willem Defoe in Bram Stokers immortally beloved tale of blood, sorrow, sex, and syntax! IBC is proud to present Nosferatu. It would suck to miss it…

Horrible, horrific and heartbreaking. Everything that it was supposed to be and more. Egger’s yet again proving his understanding of folklore, removing the glorified version of vampires as the world had come to know them. The film rips away any form of positivity you could have towards Orlok- leaving you feeling repulsed and disgusted by him with absolutely zero redeeming qualities. The first true Strigoi in cinema and nobody could have done it but Egger’s. Bill is unrecognizable both vocally and visually. Lily-Rose is haunting, magnetic and terrorized through not only her dreams but her reality. Nicholas Holt is the perfect Thomas Hutter, as the grief and horror consumes him. Von Franz provides a voice for Ellen, camaraderie, and an opportunity to act as she must- without restraint. Costume design by Linda Muir was something I cannot even put into words. Ellen’s mourning-wear exceeded my expectations and my only sadness came from not seeing her lilac evening ensemble longer than it deserved. The soundtrack was perfection, giving me chills on several occasions and being the perfect background to each haunting shot.

If you are looking for some form of romanticism in the story, this is not your film. The torment is perfectly repulsive and this will be your truest insight to what people of 1838 truly believed the vampire to be. There is nothing about this story that does not make you want to burst into tears for Ellen or detest Orlok to the highest degree. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Hello-

What are your thoughts on Nosferatu (2024)?

I am asking because there have been accusations the movie is sexist and make women's sexuality problematic. For example, a column on the Mary Sue, and similar thoughts in a review on Reactor.

My own take is that Orlok is a sexual predator, and his rhetoric is just excuse making. This is a horror movie, so he is a magical, undead predator. But he's still a lying rapist.

What are your thoughts?

Nosferatu: Directed By Robert Eggers:

Nosferatu is a tale as old as time, however Robert Eggers manages to make something ive seen so many times something I’ve never seen before. This is definitely Eggers version and it shows from the start of the movie right till the terrifyingly anxiety inducing final shot. When I the film finished I found myself paranoid over the dark corners of my house and jumping when the wind rattled my bedroom window. I was totally afraid to close my eyes to sleep. This film is as suffocating as Count Orlok’s coffin. The movie doesn’t let you rest or breathe for a single moment.

Let’s discuss the performances. Well the standout is clearly Lilly-Rose Depp who put in such a draining (in a good way) performance where I was watching in dreaded horror and wondering if her tiny body would break when she has her seizures. She also manages to make Ellen the most complex and interesting character in a film about a vampire. As well as Lilly-Rose Depp, we have Bill Skarsgard as the haunting and intimidating Count Orlok. I don’t have much to say without spoiling anything but I will say he’s completely humanly unrecognizable, I had no idea there was an actor on screen under the makeup, he transforms himself to the point that will have you guessing if that’s really Bill Skarsgard or an actual vampire that Robert Eggers found in Romania. We also have Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter, this is a career best performance from Nicholas Hoult so far for me. He puts energy, concern and real fight into his performance that I just watch in awe. Willem Dafoe is well and truly having so much in his role as Doctor Von Franz, he brings a different kind of energy to the film, he also portrays his character as man on a mission, a mission to destroy the bringer of death. Emma Corin and Aaron Taylor-Johnson also both star in this and both have more screen time than I thought they would going into this, and they both completely hold their own, and credit to them both for once again proving they’re both the film industry’s top rising talents. Lastly I want to speak on Simon McBurney as Herr Knock. I have a feeling this will be the most underrated performance of the Oscar’s calendar. From the moment we meet Knock you feel uncertain and you’ll shift uncomfortably in your seat. Simon McBurney is truly damn right bone chilling, and he’s not even the vampire!

The film is an absolute classic that will be studied by horror film makers for years and years. The cinematography alone is enough to leave you stunned and glued to the screen. You’ll want to look away but you won’t be able too. Please see this in theaters as late at night as you can as you’ll get the full effect then.

Nosferatu (2024) = 9.8/10