A loose adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s classic 1922 silent filmof the same name, Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu returns the vampire to its original designation as a creature of death rather than a tragic, romantic figure. The emasculated Dracula has been replaced by a monstrous entity that can best be described as “appetite” or “hunger” and whose origins are demonic in nature. This vampire is not a creature that sparkles in the sunlight and whose kiss will be welcomed by anyone, pure of heart or otherwise.

Both Dracula (the novel) and Nosferatu (the movie) are in the public domain, giving writer/director Eggers creative freedom to mix elements from the latter (which provides the skeletal structure of the storyline) with the former (which provides various details), while incorporating his own quirks and innovations. Of course, Nosferatu was an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula, so the connections are unforced. Unlike Werner Herzog, however, who remade Nosferatu in 1979, Eggers retains the names given by Murnau to the characters instead of reverting them to their Dracula analogs. As a result, the vampire is Count Orlock rather than Count Dracula.

This is Eggers’ fourth film, following The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman. All have featured a distinctive aesthetic – an eerie, ethereal quality that is an apt fit for Nosferatu, especially when blended with the elements of German expressionism adapted to pay homage to the original. (Shadow imagery recalls Murnau’s iconic shots.) Although the film is technically in color, many scenes (especially those involving dreams, nightmares, and non-corporeal encounters) are in black-and-white and, when color is allowed, it is desaturated. On one occasion, the monochromatic pallet is broken only by the orange-yellow of torches.

Nosferatu opens in Wisborg, Germany by introducing us to estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) and his young wife, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp). Hutter is about to embark on a journey to the Carpathian Mountains to sell a crumbling Wisborg mansion to the mysterious Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgard). Superstitious natives warn Hutter not to travel to the Count’s castle, but greed overcomes caution. Once there, after completing the transaction, Hutter discovers Orlock’s true nature – that he is a creature of the night who drinks blood and sleeps in a coffin – and nearly doesn’t survive the ordeal. The Count, however, has a greater interest in Ellen, with whom he shares a psychosexual connection, than Thomas. After drinking deeply from his visitor’s blood, Orlock departs for Wisborg by ship. Ellen, meanwhile, is experiencing insomnia and seizures. Her condition has become so serious that the friends with whom she is staying, Friedrich and Anna Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corin), and her doctor, Dr. Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson), elect to consult the eccentric occult expert, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe). The professor, after examining Ellen, makes a shocking assessment of her condition.

Nosferatu is more disturbing and unsettling than traditionally frightening, although there are a couple of highly effective jump-scares that put the viewer on edge. This is a dark movie in nearly every way – from its look to its approach to its themes. Moments of levity are few and far between; despite its Christmas Day release, there’s nothing festive to be found in the film’s 132 minutes. Those who have seen Eggers’ other productions will have an idea what to expect.

The cast features mostly established actors, several of whom have developed reputations away from the shine of Hollywood’s blockbuster spotlight. Bill Skarsgard, perhaps the closest thing modern cinema has to Lon Chaney Sr. (“The Man of 1000 Faces”) once again occupies a character buried under enough prosthetics to obscure his features. The most notable thing about Skarsgard’s portrayal may be his voice – deep, gravelly, and sinister. His physical appearance, rarely shown out of shadows or in good light, is an amalgamation of Max Schreck’s version of Orlock and a corpse-like resurrection of Vlad the Impaler. Though Skarsgard has the showiest role, his ferocity is matched (and perhaps exceeded) by that of Lily-Rose Depp, who appears to have been born to play this part. A perfect match for Ellen’s serene beauty, Depp leans into the physicality of her role, which requires bouts of hysteria and seizures that occasionally recall Linda Blair in The Exorcist. She, even more than Skarsgard, rivets the viewer’s attention.

Supporting performers include Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the shipbuilder who takes in Ellen while Thomas is in Transylvania, Emma Corrin as Ellen’s best friend, and Willem Dafoe as the movie’s version of Van Helsing, whose role is more about exposition than plot advancement. In recent years, the prolific Dafoe has mixed indie work with blockbuster appearances, collaborating with the likes of Wes Anderson, Sean Baker, Gorthos Lanthimos, and Eggers (having appeared in three of the director’s four movies). He also once played Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire.

Old-school vampire aficionados will find in Orlock a nightmarish creature who brings a few new wrinkles to the traditional Dracula-based type – notably, the concept that he is the embodiment of a demon and that he and Ellen have a long-standing psychic connection that dates back to when she was a child. Like the Murnau version, the relationship between these two characters forms the backbone of the story and Orlock’s obsession with Ellen becomes his weakness. Eggers delves more deeply into this, emphasizing this different interpretation of what it means to be a vampire in the most obvious deviation from Stoker’s novel. And, although religious iconographic is not entirely absent, its importance is diminished.

Although Nosferatu may be too hypnotic and moody to appeal to many of the younger horror generation’s adherents, it contains enough instances of visceral bloodiness (including a scene in which a character bites off a bird’s head) to generate shock and revulsion. With its striking images, pervasive atmosphere, and incessant sense of dread, Nosferatu leaves an impression that proves hard to shake.

Nosferatu (United States, 2024)