Eggers' "Nosferatu" a stunning homage to Murnau

By Leonardo Salazar

With no doubt, Robert Eggers is now one of the most important and biggest filmmakers. Anyone seeing his work can tell all his films contain amazing stories with interesting characters and stunning photography, and in the case of his last film, it was not the exception.

“Nosferatu” was released on Christmas Day 2024 and gave horror fans a lot to talk about. Although no longer in most theatres, it is available on many streaming services for sale or rent. I’ve watched it twice - the first one on IMAX, and the second one on VIP theatre - and I can confirm it is a total visual masterpiece with a lot of things to analyze and to take a deeper look into.

I screened the original 1992 “Nosferatu” by F.W. Murnau couple of years ago, and really liked it. I thought it was a great silent film with original and disturbing visuals. It became my favorite exponent of German expressionism (maybe along with Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”), and by watching the new film, it is very easy to tell how big is the respect Eggers has for the original.

Some of the ways to see this is how Eggers references some shots that mirror Murnau, with the best example when Nosferatu gets to Hutter’s house and his terrifying shadow on the staircase wall proceeding before him.

Another example is the names of the characters are the same as those of the original film. The great development of characters in Eggers’ movie is remarkable. Throughout the film, the effect of Count Orlok on the character’s lives will affect them in a profound way (no one will be an exception) and this will stay with them to the point that no character is the same at the end as they were at the beginning. I like how Eggers used the same characters that were in the 1922 film and extended them and told their stories but in his own version which, of course, are darker.

And if we mention the characters, we cannot skip the talk about the casting of the film nothing short of perfect. I came out of the theatre and I told my brother, “I’m not sure, but maybe the best thing of the film were the performances.” The performances of Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Emma Corin were incredible, as well as Bill Skarsgård who really did a perfect job playing the vampire. But, in my opinion, the best performance was that of Lily-Rose Depp. I saw a couple of comments on the internet saying she didn’t do such a good job, but I completely disagree. Her acting was for me almost unbelievable and there is no doubt she is now one of my favorite actresses. The famous scene of her possession (the scene where she was with Nicholas Hoult) was truly perfect and very disturbing.

Without giving any spoilers away for those who haven’t experiences the film yet, I’ll just say that the structure of the story is simple but great. I say it’s simple because there are many things we have seen in fiction a thousand times before, (like protagonists in trouble not knowing what to do and suddenly a character shows up as someone who can help and that someone is the classic professor who knows all the answers and will help everyone), but honestly that’s not bad because Eggers still does this in his own way which ends up being great. Besides, the story is the same as the 1922 film, it is obvious that some things might not be original but it’s the same story of more than 100 years ago.

The reason why I say the story is simple AND great, is because the plot works perfectly. Throughout the film, audiences are shown insights about the characters … little by little who is who and how they are behaving and reacting. And little by little, the tension of the story increases, revealing bit by bit a sense that something is not right generating fear for our characters.

I must add something that, don’t worry, it ain’t no spoiler, but the first scene where Count Orlok, the vampire, is introduced in his castle is my favorite. It’s perfectly composed, from the way that Egger shows you how Hutter arrives to the castle, all the way to how afraid he is all the time, to finally Hutter and the vampire Orlok talking creates something with a lot of suspense getting the audience to feel afraid for him as if you were in Hutter’s place.

One last thing is maybe the best: the cinematography. Jarin Blaschke, the director of photography, in my opinion, did a perfect job. The visuals and shots are completely beautiful and yet also terrifying. Throughout the film, there are times where the audience might feel some relief to see beautiful shots of the landscape or of the sea, to offset the dark and gothic visuals that give an enormous horror tone. Much of the film gives a sense of being lost and at risk of a danger from a monster hidden from view, that you don’t know where it is. Since “The Witch” (Robert Eggers’ first feature film from 2015), he has demonstrated a master’s touch with visuals creating a horrifying setting and disturbing atmosphere. With “Nosferatu” he has surpassed himself.

For these reasons, I give this film a 4.7 out of 5 stars.

The new Nosferatu delivers stunning images.