Eggers’ screenplay returns to the names Henrik Galeen’s century-old screenplay that so transparently substituted Count Orlok, Thomas Hutter, and Prof. Sievers for Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker, and Dr. Seward, Stoker successfully sued, securing the destruction of nearly all but a few blessedly surviving prints of the film. In one of Eggers’ few departures, Prof. Van Helsing is now Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a brand new moniker for the familiar occultist.
Once again, newlywed Hutter journeys to Transylvania to facilitate a reclusive nobleman’s real estate transaction—and it turns out just as badly as ever. However, Orlok intentionally wanted Hutter out of the way, because he already forged a sinister connection to his new bride, Ellen (a.k.a. Mina). Since Hutter’s boss Knock (a.k.a. Renfield) also happens to be Orlok’s enthralled servant, he duly orders Hutter to the Carpathians, where the junior clerk gets somewhat delayed in the castle.
While much more monstrous than conventional tall, dark, and handsome vampires, Eggers’ Orlack is still highly sexualized, in very disturbing ways. Somehow, despite distance and circumstance, Orlack’s spirit seduced and defiled Ellen in her youth. She hoped her love for Hutter would redeem her, but the vampire will not let her go easily.
Regardless, fans know what to expect when Orlack’s trunks arrive on the decimated ship on which they sailed. However, Eggers emphasizes the rats, worthy of “Three Skeleton Key,” which disembark from the derelict vessel, spreading pestilence throughout the city. Conditions get so bad, Prof. Sievers reluctantly consults his slightly disgraced former mentor, Prof Von Franz (a.k.a. Dr. Bulwer, a.k.a. Prof. Van Helsing), who seems to secretly understand the situation more than he lets on.
By horror movie standards, Eggers’ Nosferatu is absolutely gorgeous looking. In addition to Murnau’s original, Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke achieve a dreamlike vision that suggest the shimmering fantasia visions of Guy Maddin as an unlikely source of inspiration. The film is steeped in Old World gothic atmosphere. In fact, it revisited some of Murnau’s 1922 locations.
Regardless, Bill Skarsgard is amazing and rather frightening to behold, as the demonic Orlok. By now, he could be considered the Doug Jones of leading men. His presence is ferocious, to the point of outright viciousness. Yet, there is still a seductiveness to Orlok’s grotesqueness.
Of course, the perfectly cast Willem Dafoe is jolly good fun to watch unleashing his inner Peter Cushing as the brilliant but erratic Von Franz. Honestly, Ralph Ineson has yet to get the credit he deserves as a horror all-star, but he is every bit Dafoe’s equal playing the sharp-tempered Sievers.
As a surprising but welcome bonus, Lily-Rose Depp delivers her hands-down career-best performance as Ellen Hutter, vividly expressing her fragile vulnerability and her compromised sense of guilt. She makes the Mina-figure much more intriguing than the usual weepy gothic heroine.
Frankly, the morbid grace of Eggers’ Nosferatu is hard to match. Its exceedingly eerie atmosphere exceeds that of his prior films, including The Witch and The Lighthouse. This is a worthy follow-up to Murnau as well as the Universal and Hammer Dracula films, surpassing Herzog’s remake. It is super-stylish, but never squeamish. Very highly recommended, Eggers’ Nosferatu opens tomorrow (12/25) on theaters, including the AMC Lincoln Square in New York.
