Robert Eggers directed the most recent adaptation of Nosferatu, which is a frankly cynically plagiarized version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But that’s a story for another day (and a really fun one). In terms of plot, not much differs from F. W. Murnau’s 1922 version: a centuries-old vampire living in a remote castle somewhere in Romania has acquired a property in Germany to carry out his evil deeds. By this, I mean sucking blood and killing people. This is the second remake of Nosferatu, as Werner Herzog directed the previous one in 1979.
Eggers’s direction is, by now, a signature move. His high-contrast, dark tones are present throughout the movie. Very little light comes through, and when it does, it’s mostly the Moon’s or coming from a candle. This gives the scenes a more dramatic feel. Darkness is a recurring motif, not just what Count Orlok symbolizes, but literally the absence of light in the scene. The gothic elements also add up to the sinister vibe, and the music keeps a constant feeling of dread. The soundtrack gives a lot of cues, but is also deceptive. It raises the tension because it can, not because it has to.
There’s also something to be said about shadows. Murnau’s version relied heavily on them, with That Shadow Scene being the most iconic of the film. Eggers doesn’t shy away from shadows, but doesn’t recreate the classic shadow scene in its entirety. Rather, he explores other possibilities and uses fabrics to his advantage. It’s reminiscent, if only a little, of Babak Anvari’s 2016 directorial debut, Under the Shadow.
The movie has been generally well received. However, a lot of criticism has surfaced regarding Eggers’s precedent of historical accuracy. From his previous work, Eggers earned the reputation of keeping as close to historical facts as possible, but in Nosferatu, he throws that out of the window. The movie is set in 1838 Germany, but all the characters speak English—a historically accurate English, but still. And without spoiling much, some facial-hair choices also seem a little out of time.
Nevertheless, the movie is a faithful remake of Murnau’s version and brings a small addition to Count Orlok’s mythos. It uses more occult elements to explain Orlok’s presence and reasoning in the modern world and solidifies Herr Knock’s—Renfield, basically—contributions to the plot. The movie borrows plenty of elements from three other movies in particular: Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre, Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession, and Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula.
From Herzog’s Nosferatu, the most evident homage is the presence of rats. Herzog’s images of the rats running freely on the boat carrying Count Dracula to Wismar are haunting and disgusting. Eggers brings that back and also has the rats scurrying around town, spreading the plague. The inherent coldness of the boat shipwreck on Wismar’s shore with the rats spilling out of the wreckage definitely called Herzog’s portrayal to mind.
The relationship between Orlok and Ellen Hutter evoques a little of Anna and the doppelgänger’s in Zulawski’s Possession. This otherworldly and ancient creature being drawn to a mortal woman by an indescribable passion is a main topic in the film. The way it plays out and the presence of violence and revulsion recall Zulawski’s movie, with the ancient creature intruding in the couple’s marriage.
The addition of occult elements and the mention of possession and hysteria also put Ellen and Anna in the same playing field. Both are women who are suffering from something supernatural, though not unexplained, and are treated as hysterical women by the men around them. Also, a fun connection is that Isabelle Adjani played Lucy Harker in Herzog’s Nosferatu.
To close it out, Eggers takes some of the romantic and dramatic aspects of Coppola’s Dracula to heighten the stakes in this year’s Nosferatu. The male characters band up in a little squad set to defeat Orlok, much like Coppola portrays the little group tasked with defeating Dracula. Additionally, the link between Ellen and Orlok boils down to the same vibes as Winona Rider and Gary Oldman’s, including the theatrics of it.
In the end, Eggers came up with another version of the original Nosferatu. It has added little to Orlok’s lore. Nevertheless, Eggers’s film is a classy homage to previous horror movies that paved the way for his. Eggers’s movie has found a cozy little spot besides these classics, but didn’t break much ground overall.
Adriana Acevedo is an editor, writer, and sleep paralysis demon. She's been published in magazines like samfiftyfour and Impostor. She's bilingual and living in the monstrous Mexico City. Whenever she's not reading horror stories or watching horror movies, she's baking sourdough bread. Read more of her writing here.