Director:Robert Eggers
Writers:Robert EggersHenrik GaleenBram Stoker
Stars:Lily-Rose DeppNicholas HoultBill Skarsgård
Story and Review
was a film released on Christmas
With a packed movie house.
We enter a gothic castle.
O’er there’s a rat, not a mouse.
We find Count Orlok feasting
on the flesh of mere mortals.
T’was a vision by Robert Eggers,
Yet another horrifying portal.
We traverse time and culture
In a film full of riches.
We’re seen this story before,
previously told without hitches.
Eggers’ vision is tremendous,
worthy of screens big and not small.
Nosferatu is the best film on Christmas,
a holiday nightmare for all!
Truth be told, I’m not sure why Robert Eggers’ latest film, his much-anticipated version of Nosferatu, is released on Christmas Day (outside of there being a very brief mention of the holiday in the film, and the frequent-enough usage of snow and themes of family and love). Since this was the intended release date for the film from over a year ago, there’s clearly a reason outside of Eggers and company wanting to be a part of the ongoing awards season race. Maybe one cannot help but reflect on their loved ones and the hope and faith that keeps us together during this holiday season, and watching Nosferatu during this time of the year may haunt you even more than watching it any other time: you’ll be pressed to reflect on those you are closest to, and imagine them going through the nightmares present in Eggers’ newest motion picture.
You may asking yourself (rightfully so), “Why do we need another Nosferatu?” Over one hundred years ago, we had F. W. Murnau’s silent film classic kick off the way that vampires (including Dracula, who Count Orlok/Nosferatu is based off of) could be represented in film. Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre is the same story but with far more pessimism as we see characters and settings succumb to the darkness; this was released over fifty years after Murnau’s version. Now a century later, Eggers’ version has been released. I’ll tell you this: if anyone else wanted to make this film, I’d have written off the idea. However, likely the only working director today who I would trust with this project is Eggers himself, who has a history of highly-researched visions with dialect that fits era, location, and culture, some of the finest detailing in period-specific cinema, and a control on the horror genre that is fresh, effective, and clever. A new Nosferatu could only come from Eggers, or so it would appear on paper. Apparently, Eggers has been wanting to make Nosferatu for nearly ten years; it was originally meant to be his second film after The Witch.
I’m happy to report that my expectations were met. I got exactly what I wanted from a Nosferatu written and directed by Eggers. If it’s true that Eggers has been wanting to make this film for a good chunk of his life (not only did he want to make this feature for a decade, he co-produced a stage production of Nosferatu back in high school), you can see every ounce of dedication in each and every frame of this film. In that same breath, what I wasn’t expecting — and this is quite the surprise — is that Nosferatu is to Eggers what The Favourite is to Yorgos Lanthimos: an eccentric auteur’s most accessible film while still being unorthodox enough to not be considered safe. Nosferatu has moments of comedic relief amidst the madness, which you’d barely find in any previous Eggers film (if anything, any comedy may stem from absurdity or discomfort). Nosferatu also possesses more optimism, sympathy, and beauty than any Eggers film has previously. Yes, there are elements to this film that sound appealing to the general public. In that same breath, Nosferatu is also just as disturbing and shocking as the director has ever been, so don’t expect Eggers to be going soft on you.
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