I didn’t see many films in the theater in 2024. The very last day of 2024 revealed that Nosferatu was the best of that handful.

Directed by Robert Eggers, Nosferatu was one of the few movies I was looking forward to this year. I enjoyed his first two films The Witch, and The Lighthouse. His third film, The Northman, convinced me that whatever Mr. Eggers directed was something I wanted to see. Nosferatu only reinforced that feeling.

A classic vampire story

The basic plot of Nosferatu follows that of the 1922 film by F.W. Murnau and blends in elements of Dracula. The original film was a version of Dracula with enough changes so they wouldn’t have to pay royalties. Since Dracula is in the public domain, Eggers was able to include a version of some characters from Dracula that weren’t in the 1922 Nosferatu. One of the major ones is Professor Von Franz played by Willem Dafoe. He is a Van Helsing-like character in that he is the expert who figures out what Count Orlok is and how to kill him but not the fervently pious man of many of the depictions of Van Helsing.

The film has a lot more in common with the classic folktales and accounts of vampires than it does with the vampire films that precede it. It’s darker and deeper than most vampire films. It is closer to Werner Herzog’s version of Nosferatu than any of the better known Dracula films.

What is so great about this film?

Robert Eggers digs deep into his subjects. He demands as much historically accurate detail in the sets, costumes, and props as can be mustered. Instead of recycling the tropes from a century of low budget Dracula movies and knockoffs, he dug into the vampire lore and used those ideas instead.

The film shows a lot of respect to the best of the horror genre. The dread of the gothic comes through in every shot, the music, and the dialogue. Blended in with the gothic is Lovecraftian cosmic horror manifested by Professor Von Franz.

As Eggers did in his previously released film Northman he incorporates the ugly reality of the past, what our predecessors believed, what they did. What I like about the way he does this, is that unlike most Hollywood films that include those elements, he does not tell you that you should feel guilty for how those people behaved.

He shows you their behavior and leaves it to you to decide what you think about that. Amazing. A storyteller who treats his audience like thoughtful intelligent adults.

Horror movies are often little more than a disposable amusement. Frankly, most entertainment these days is little more than a shallow spectacle. Nosferatu is not a mere spectacle for titillation. It has nudity, sex, and violence but they are all in service of the story and it’s themes.

The themes of the story are both subtle and deep. Each of the major characters has their own dramatic theme. Some were not very complex but the themes of the three central characters were not entirely clear to me until the film was over. Needing to watch every frame of the film to understand what the story was about is a mark of good storytelling.

The Monster is Monstrous

I’ve grown tired of villains and monsters who are victims. That works in some stories but horror is better with monsters who do monstrous things because it is their essence.

Orlok is a monster. There is no rationalizing. There is no sympathizing.

At no point in the film is he anything but a monster. His monstrosity escalates throughout the story.

Count Orlok is evil because that is what he wants to be.

Take note storytellers and game designers. Orlok is the manifestation of the negative value of the main theme.

That is what monsters in stories are for.

I recommend seeing Nosferatu in the theater

I like the theater experience. Growing up, going to the theater was one of my favorite things. In recent years, the cinema become less and less enjoyable. I almost never go anymore.

Nosferatu was a great experience. The music, the oppressive dread of Orlok’s castle, the closeness of the streets in a 19th century German city, the rats; it was all so much more intense for being in the theater.

I read that the Blu-Ray will have a director’s cut which I’ll be interested in watching.

I recommend the film and I recommend seeing it in the theater if you can.