By Back in 1922 a German made silent from introduced mainstream audiences to the Vampire Nosferatu. The film was inspired by Bram Stokers 1897 Dracula novel and despite acknowledgement of it’s influence; resulted in legal actions where copies of the film were ordered to be destroyed.
Despite the ruling, several prints survived and set the basis for many Horror films to follow as the dark Gothic imagery and characters became templates for the numerous genre films that followed.
In the new film “Nosferatu”, Robert Eggers has written and directed an updated take on the material complete with modern visuals to capture the material in a way that is fresh yet still in keeping with the source material and era that inspired it.
A young man named Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), is tasked to travel to a remote locale to finalize a realty deal. Despite the time away from his new wife; Thomas takes the opportunity as it is seen as a way at steady work and the finances needed to live the life he wants.
Thomas has a friend named Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who has not only helped him financially but has agreed to watch over his wife Ellen (Lily- Rise Depp), as she has suffered from bouts of Melancholy in her past.
It is revealed that the vampire Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard” visited and imprinted on Ellen in her youth which has caused her to have a troubled past. Now that she is married; the Count plans to use Thomas as a way to not only be closer to Ellen but to feast on new territories and his eerie manipulations of Thomas leaves him left for dead in a remote land and triggers Ellen to have disturbing episodes as the Count draws closer.
While the premise is solid as is the cast; the film dragged significantly in the second half and I found myself becoming very impatient with the drawn-out setup to a finale that was very anti-climatic and in many ways defies logic as it was contradictory to established motivations and traits.
While the film has a solid cast and visuals going for it, I found myself wondering if the source material would seem dated and tame for modern audiences who have become accustomed to far more gruesome and shocking cinematic depictions of horror.
In the end “Nosferatu” has enough good things to recommend the film but it would not be my suggestion for Christmas viewing.
3 stars out of 5
