Nosferatu

Writer/Director: Robert Eggers

Newly married Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), is asked by his new boss Herr Knock, (Simon McBurney) to travel to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) and sign the deeds on a new property. His new wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) is panicked by the trip. Haunted by dark visions since her youth, she is terrified of the risk Thomas faces. Her fears are not misplaced, as Thomas finds a dark, foreboding castle and Count. The journey has not only placed him at risk, but also all of those back home. Thomas and Ellen, with help from Frederick (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Dr. Sievers (Ralph Ineson) and Prof. Von Franz (Willem Defoe) must tackle the risk Orlok poses and save those he threatens.

This is a wonderfully dark, melodramatic, camp, gothic horror.

It is built around the obsession between Ellen and Orlok, their fates intertwined in ways they do not realise. And also.against a fear of the unknown, driven by superstition, but also the more contemporary fear of an unknown plague, sweeping through the land.

The story telling is wonderfully gothic. It is often melodramatic in a way only gothic horror can be. It is tense and dark, creating an unease and fear that is wholly absorbing. And when it needs to, it produces bloodlust and gore.

It is built around its two central performances. firstly Skarsgård’s Orlok, who thrives in the shadows. But it’s  Lily-Rose Depp that steals the show. Seen as nothing more than a girl haunted by her melancholy, she grows as she realises the responsibility and part she plays. Delivered with a fabulous physical performance.

It is beautifully shot and blends colour and monochrome seamlessly to show the shadow Orlok casts. It’s dark streets, high towers and imposing buildings, a masterclass in gothic horror.

Nosferatu is a wonderfully dark, melodramatic, Gothic horror. It is built on a wonderful performances by Lily Rose Depp and the darkly imposing Bill Skarsgård. It looks incredible and builds an atmospheric world that is often tense and fabulously gory when needed. Brilliantly enjoyable.