Nosferatu (2024)

"_There is a devil in this world and I have met him._" There are parts of this movie I really like. It is almost like gothic poetry painted onto the screen and in a way it is beautiful. Another part of me was a little disappointed with a certain look Nosferatu had. I thought he would looke more like the classic but once I put that aside I truly enjoyed this movie. Lily Depp's physical performance actually surprised me and she deserves some recognition for it.

'Nosferatu' didn't quite hook me, but there is enough about it that I can consider it as a good film. The visuals are splendid, as are the gothic horror elements. On the cast, Lily-Rose Depp impresses, as does (more minimally) Emma Corrin and I'm always happy to see Willem Dafoe. I do continue to feel quite nonplussed by Nicholas Hoult. I did like him in fellow 2024 release 'Juror #2', but in this I've kinda reverted to feeling unmoved by him onscreen. I'm not entirely sure why as he seems a likeable chap, yet his performances just don't really register - which admittedly sounds harsher than I intended. Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok is also a part of this flick that I'm unsure on. Does he look the real deal? Absolutely, no complaints there, but I particularly found the dialogue with him to be a borderline bumbling mess. I found the scenes directly with Count to be the least interesting. I would also say that the movie goes on for a bit too long, though I admit that probably is more of a personal shout than one that is to be set in stone; because if you love this, it'll be the perfect length I'm sure. For me, I feel like they went around the houses a tad. With that said, I did highly enjoy that final scene with Depp - very good! Those last paragraphs make it sound like I have a dislike for this film. I do not. It just has some noteworthy points that I felt the need to mention. As I type, having not looked at how this has been received, I'd be shocked if this wasn't rated high. Either way, this is worth a watch. This is my third Robert Eggers film. I loved 'The Northman' (9/10) but I, honestly, hated 'The Lighthouse' (4/10). Safe to say this falls exactly down the middle, in terms of how I think of it. Quite a stark contrast even so, kinda fascinated to see how 'The Witch' hits me when I get around to that at some point.

Incredible acting. No one outshined anyone. Nicholas Hault’s interpretation of genuine fear and loss of faith and strength is commendable. Lily rose depp’s performances over all I see as true sport. I’m inspired. The costuming was splendid. Eggers is great in his choices.

"Tom" (Nicholas Hoult) is lovingly married to "Ellen" (Lily-Rose Depp) but they haven't much money. That could change, though, as his boss "Knock" (Simon McBurney) charges him with a very special mission. He must travel from his German home to the mountains of Carpathia where he must facilitate the sale of a ruined manor house to the reclusive "Count Orlok" (Bill Skarsgård). His journey is riddled with portents of suspicion and doom; those he encounters warm him to turn back - but on he goes until he arrives at the castle and is greeted by his enigmatic host. What he thinks is the contract to seal the deal on the house is anything but, as he is soon tormented in his dreams. Many hundreds of miles away, his wife is also suffering - and that causes his best friend "Friedrich" (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) to call in "Dr. Sievers" (Ralph Ineson) who in turn looks to the scientifically ostracised "Prof. von Franz" (Willem Dafoe) for some answers. There are no tangible causes, and the professor quickly concludes that it is evil that's at work and that the continuing and inexplicable absence of her husband, his employer and a recently arrived plague of rats are all part of the supernatural causes of her melancholy. There might be a solution, but that requires an act of supreme sacrifice on the part of the young "Ellen", or can her husband and his friends find another way? I'm not really a fan of two-parters, but I think in this case that might have been a better solution for Robert Eggers. We have a brief historical introduction to the Count and to the underlying cause of all of the troubles for "Ellen" but for the first hour of the film we don't really develop the characters enough, nor sow the seeds for the mysticism especially well. He relies too heavily on our knowledge of the Galeen story of "Nosferatu" (as opposed to the Bram Stoker "Dracula" one). I could have done with more depth to that chronology. Once "Orlok" is on his voyage and afterwards in the town where his merciless behaviour causes misery and panic, we seem to hit the accelerator and rush to the conclusion as if the cock really were about to crow any minute. There simply isn't time to allow the menace to accumulate. Though the visuals are impressively bleak, most of the acting is remarkably bland. Hoult manages to exude some decent terror now and again, but ATJ is really wooden; it takes too long for Depp to show us what she can bring to this under-exposed character and we just don't see anywhere near enough of the ghoulish "Orlok" to understand what this story is essentially all about. It's a gothic, dark, gloomy love story. A story of deceit and betrayal and I wanted more. I wanted to feel a little more invested in the characters: to sympathise, to pity, to fear, even. Perhaps a director's cut is in the offing? It's a great watch on a big screen, but I have to admit to being just a little disappointed.

Visually interesting. Fun to see hands venture over towns. It failed to hold my interest the whole runtime...it's long. It's kind of boring. It's fine. You could probably write an essay about it and be revered if you so desired.

Was pretty decent movie with beautiful visuals. I mean the atmosphere was perfect - cold, dark, gloomy winter. Story was good too. Recently we have been getting some decent horror movies about vampires, like "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" which was another great vampire movie.

"Nosferatu" tries far too hard to be something, it could more readily have been, with a lighter touch. You can see what they are going for, a creepy noir, horror fantasy. The problem is, it feels obsessively over stylised, to the point of leaden Gothic oppressiveness. Its a quality that infects the characterisations, as well. They feel over stated, too much larger than life (or is that death) and as a a result, at times, farcical. The story itself, to those who have read Bram Stoker's "Dracula", is wholly familiar. A few amendments have been made to bring it more in line with the original "Nosferatu" directed by F. W. Murnau, way back in 1922. Count Dracula has been replaced by Count Orlock, for example. I don't hate this film. Its clear a lot of effort and care has been invested into its creation. I think too, certain dramatic and visual aspects of the film noir approach, are creepily memorable. In summary, "Nosferatu" is a valiant effort that would have been markedly better with gentler handling. A balance of the dark aspects of the film with a more subtle, lighter approach would have led to a superior final product. Ultimately a rather emotionally and visually, cumbersome watch, you might want to spread over a couple of days or evenings.