Nosferatu (2024): A Haunting Reimagining of a Classic

Estimated reading time: 21 minutes

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is the kind of movie that digs into your bones and doesn’t let go. It’s eerie, beautifully unsettling, and pulses with an almost tactile sense of dread. This isn’t just a remake of the 1922 classic – it’s a re-imagining that wears its influences like a hauntingly cool, dark cloak, but at the same time, it stands firmly on its own as a piece of pure Eggers’ madness.

Set in 19th-century Europe, the film follows the traditional Nosferatu story: a mysterious vampire, Count Orlok, arrives in a quiet town, carrying with him death and decay. This is the template, but Eggers bends it, twists it, and makes it fit into his signature world of creeping dread and historical oddity. If you’ve seen The Witch or The Lighthouse, you’ll recognize the way Eggers builds tension — it’s not through jump scares or gore but through atmosphere, mood, and the slow unraveling of something deeply unsettling.

The film’s visuals are jaw-dropping. Eggers, who has an eye for period detail and a knack for using light and shadow to tell a story, brings a unique beauty to this version of Nosferatu. The lighting is almost like a character in itself, with silvery moonlight spilling across decaying walls, casting Orlok’s shadow like a living thing. The colors are muted, earth-toned, and deliberately old-world, yet they still have a surreal, almost dreamlike quality that amplifies the unease. This is a world on the edge of nightmare, but it’s so meticulously designed you want to dive in, even as it feels like the air is growing colder.

And then there’s the Count himself, played by the unearthly and tall Bill Skarsgård. He’s perfect in the role, embodying something monstrous yet oddly human. Orlok here feels like a grotesque version of a Romanian zombie oligarch. A man lost to time, as if he was once part of the world but has since been abandoned by it. Skarsgård doesn’t just look unsettling — he feels unsettling. His movements are strange, almost mechanical, and his expressions are a mix of hunger and loneliness. It’s a portrayal that’s not just scary, it’s sorrowful.

The human side of the story isn’t lost either. Lily-Rose Depp (channeling Isabelle Adjani on acid) plays Ellen, the doomed heroine who, in this version, feels like a real person with depth and agency. Her performance balances innocence with an almost prophetic sense of doom, making her an anchor for the audience as the madness swirls around her.

Eggers really sinks his teeth into the psychological horror here. This isn’t just about a monster lurking in the shadows – it’s about the way fear warps everything it touches. There’s a sense of hopelessness and decay that permeates the film, not just in the physical world but in the characters’ minds as well. As Orlok closes in on his prey, the lines between reality and nightmare blur, and Eggers expertly plays with the audience’s perception, building a tension that’s thick enough to cut with a knife.

In the end, Nosferatu isn’t just a horror film — it’s a meditation on isolation, fear, and the strange beauty of decay. Eggers has created something that’s not just an homage to F.W. Murnau’s masterpiece, Werner Herzog’s version, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but a film that stands on its own, daring you to look away even as you can’t quite tear your eyes off the screen. If you want a vampire film that lingers and chills you to the core, this one will haunt you long after the credits roll. Nosferatu isn’t just one of the best horror films of the year — it’s one of the best films, period.

Nosferatu is out in theaters December 25, 2024 (United States)

• Rating Certificate: R (for bloody violent content, graphic nudity and some sexual content.)
• Studios & Distributors: Focus Features | Maiden Voyage Pictures | Studio 8 | Birch Hill Road Entertainment | Bleat Post Production | Green Eyes Production
• Country: USA | United Kingdom | Hungary
• Director: Robert Eggers
• Language: English | German | Romanian | Russian
• Run Time: 133 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Written By: Robert Eggers (written for the screen by) | Henrik Galeen
  (inspired by the screenplay “Nosferatu”) | Bram Stoker (inspired by the novel “Dracula”)
• Release Date: 25 December 2024 (USA)