With 2024 wrapping up, it is a perfect time to stake a claim and say that Robert Egger’s Nosferatu is one of my favorite movies of the year and the best horror movie made this year. Blending the story and other elements of the 1922 original and all other vampire media, Eggers crafts a terrifying, seductive tale shot beautifully with incredible performances. Bill Skarsgård transforms into Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp steals the show with her emotionally charged physicality.
This movie’s cinematography is one of its main calling cards. There aren’t enough words to praise the effort of Eggers and his cinematographer Jarin Blaschke. The commitment to the gothic aesthetic truly sets this movie apart from other movies trying to capture a different era or aesthetic. The way each actor is framed too is nothing short of art. You can’t scroll through any social media site without seeing a single shot like this one below and not be amazed at its achievement. I beg you; this is a movie that you’ll regret not seeing in the theater because the large screen really enhances moments like this.
While there is not a bad performance in this movie, Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp are show stealers. Skarsgård is unrecognizable as the titular vampire. As one of the oldest vampires on screen, the team behind the scenes knew they had to step up his design to stand him apart from previous iterations. Without spoiling every detail, he is easily my favorite-looking vampire since the classic Bela Lugosi look from the 1930s. While he looked incredible, it was the voice that blew me away. The amount of work Skarsgård put into perfecting the Romanian accent with opera training showed because it was so haunting to hear his raspy voice. Every time he spoke, he would have to suck in air, which would make sense for an undead body that has to force air into its lungs.
Lily-Rose Depp came into production having to replace Anya Taylor Joy, and she made sure everyone knew this role was hers. Depp plays Ellen Hutter with raw emotional ferocity. Her physicality is tremendous, as when she is under Orlok’s trance, her convulsions are so unsettling, and her facial contortions are chilling. She was incredibly emotional, bearing it all to be the emotional backbone of this movie.
The story amps up the lust that a lot of vampire stories are known to do. In this iteration, Count Orlok and Ellen are linked to each other from her past and it is only her that can “sate him”. I appreciate that each moment is intentional; there isn’t anything done solely for shock. While I liked Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, at times I felt like moments of seduction weren’t done for a deeper purpose other than shock. With Nosferatu, each orgasmic encounter Ellen has is done to show the hold Orlok has on her, even as her love for Thomas is pure and strong. The scene she and Thomas have after he returns from the castle shows this. It’s beyond just sex; it’s a level of emotional and physical depth.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Nosferatu is one of the best movies of the year. Even if you don’t like horror movies, you can still be a fan of the set pieces, the aesthetic, and the cinematography. Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp are incredible, with Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Emma Corrin also delivering excellent performances. Go see this on the big screen and then go see it again.
