Nosferatu (2024): A Visually Stunning Gothic Horror

I have been meaning to see Nosferatu for ages. Unfortunately, my family has a low tolerance for horror, and they have a tendency to hog the TV. Normally, I would just then switch to watching it on my laptop. However, this movie is dark (literally as well as thematically) and after 10-15 minutes of squinting at the screen, I gave it up.

Then one night, I had trouble sleeping, and what better way to spend a sleepless night or two then with a good horror?

Nosferatu is Robert Eggers’ 2024 adaptation of the classic 1922 silent film Nosferatu (which itself was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula)– and i’m still floored at how amazing it was. it stars Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Skarsgård.

Thoughts on Nosferatu

I was both repelled and fascinated by the movie – it cast a weird spell on me, kind of like how Nosferatu does on his victims.

I”ll start with the positives.

The shots are great! If they could make posters or wallpapers using the movie’s cinematography, I’d take it. Willem Dafoe was a delight, Bill Skarsgård was mostly good as Nosferatu, I liked Nicholas Hoult as Thomas, and in hindsight, some of Lily-Rose’s scenes look exhausting to film, seeing how much she had to do. They made actual sets and weren’t all green-screened, which is kinda cool, you don’t see that very often. All the twitching, screaming, it couldn’t have easy. The way Orlok uses his powers was pretty creative too.

I loved how the movie set up some very interesting themes – consent, sexuality, repression, all within the context of a standard horror movie. I don’t remember if the original Dracula addressed these themes as overtly as Nosferatu does? I watched the Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves movie back when it released, and while there was some sexuality there, I don’t think they show how badly it affects the heroine (or maybe I am remembering it wrongly).

In Nosferatu, you can see her degradation through the movie, which brings me to the negative.

Some of the scenes in the movie are quite disturbing to watch. Yes, it’s horror. But I was expecting horror more in the form of jump scares. But the horror in the movie is more disturbing. There is a pervading sense of decay and degradation, and I needed to take breaks from the relentless bleakness of the movie.

I also think this is a movie that needs trigger warnings – there is necrophilia, eating of live animals, and scenes of rat-bitten people. It’s all very visceral and gory.

The ending is lovely though. Without spoilers, I’d like to say that the ending here is more realistic compared to other Dracula movies I have watched. The final scene is haunting, and quiet. There is no let up in the horror.

All said, this is a disturbing movie, but it’s well done, and rises above the standard horror fare.

Recommend if you have a strong appetite for gore!