Movie review: Gritty 'Nosferatu' faithful to the original, 'Dracula' – UPI.com

1 of 5 | Lily-Rose Depp falls under the spell of “Nosferatu.” Photo courtesy of Focus Features LLC

Orlock even takes a boat to Germany and crashes it onto the shore, like the Demeter. The Hutters’ friends, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna Harding (Emma Corrin), consult Professor Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) for his expertise in dealing with cases like Orlock’s.

There has never been an adaptation of Nosferatu or Dracula in Eggers’ gritty period style, so that is the justification for this incarnation. Even Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Dracula was glamorized and stylized.

So, the world of 1838 Germany is as authentic as Eggers ‘colonial horror, The Vvitch, his 19th-century American drama, The Lighthouse, or Norse era The Northman. Eggers builds atmosphere with Thomas’ gradual approach to Orlock in evocative settings like woodsy crossroads and a snowy courtyard.

The language is just period enough to sound historic, but not so dense that it’s challenging to understand. Prof. Von Franz says, “I have hither come to help you” and “I entreat you to excuse me,” and the words “hither” and “entreat” sound historical.

Orlock still has sharp features, but is not a caricature like the silent film. He is animalistic, but does not do an exaggerated silent movie walk.

This vampire bites his victims in the chest, not the neck, which is an arbitrary difference. He is not seductive like Stoker’s Count, rather aggressively taunting Ellen that she will be his eventually.

Depp is tasked with a physical performance like a character in an Exorcist movie with convulsions that must be hard on the body once, let alone in multiple takes. Eggers also accurately conveys nightmare logic with sudden changes in characters’ perceptions.

This Nosferatu is sexual, which certainly wasn’t allowed in the silent era, but nightmare visions still interrupt the act. This is not romantic; it is 100% horror.

Nosferatu does have an ending different from Dracula, so some twists occur to surprise scholars of the source material. Ultimately, the film delivers a period-authentic vampire tale faithful to both sources.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.