What an intriguing prospect, for Robert Eggers to take on a remake of ‘Nosferatu’, itself a 100 year old silent film take on the 1897 novel, “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. Eggers, who is best known for his meticulous attention to period detail and chilling subject matter (‘The VVitch’, ‘The Northman’), has said that it’s been a goal of his to put his spin on the classic story. He is aided here by an incredible cast and crew who all understood the assignment, helping him craft an atmospheric, grisly delight that really delivers.

The film opens in what appears at first to be black and white, before revealing that the scene takes place at night. Whether he utilizes truly natural light, as he has famously done in the past, Eggers perfectly captures the perspective of one’s vision in the dark, only pulling from whatever light source is available (in this case moonlight). Framed here is a whispering Lily-Rose Depp’s Ellen character, the stand-in for Mina Harker from the novel. She is being summoned by Bill Skarsgard’s Count Orlok, in a wraith-like form, just a shadow beckoning and moving into her bedchamber. It’s mesmerizing and seductive, yet truly terrifying, as Ellen has not just fallen under his spell, but is possessed by it. It’s this unique take on the mythos that permeates the rest of the film, built here perfectly, presumably without computer effects.

The rest of the movie unfolds via familiar beats, being that this story has been told so many times. What makes this version fresh is Eggers’ sensorial direction and flair for the gothic macabre. The film somehow manages to be sexually tense without being sexy. There is no charm displayed from Orlok, just an overbearing sense of inescapable control. Upon his arrival in Transylvania, Nicholas Hoult’s Johnathan Harker stand-in, Thomas, is not greeted by seductive banshees. Instead he’s confronted by the downtrodden townsfolk, a stranger in a strange land, warned in a language he can’t understand. When he does meet the Count, it’s not in an elegant castle, but a mass of stone ruin, greeted by a growling, guttural beast of a figure, with an era appropriate bushy mustache (definitely a choice!) Hoult is always great, and here he is able to demonstrate the fear, frustration, and horror to a terrifying degree that has been devoid in vampire movies of late.

When the film is focused back in Germany it’s really Depp’s time to shine, supported by solid performances. She’s staying with her friend Anna (Emma Corrin, ending her breakout 2024 strongly after ‘A Murder at the End of the World’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’) and her wealthy husband Friedrich (Aaron Taylor Johnson hamming it up nicely) while her husband is on his extended mission to secure his boss’s most important client, the Count. To call her performance possessed would be an understatement, recalling the whole mind/body surrender of Isabelle Adjani in 1981’s ‘Posession’, an inspiration for the young actress. Of course a doctor is called (the booming voiced Ralph Ineson) who, feeling out of his element brings in the unhinged services of Willem Dafoe’s Van Helsing stand-in. It’s in these later scenes, particularly with Dafoe, that Eggers’ dark, black humor rears its head, both in character action and logic. 2024’s ‘Nosferatu’ is not exactly a reinvention, but it succeeds on its auteur’s unique sensibilities, and really brings back the freakiness to the vampire genre with a film that can only be described as beautifully grotesque . . .

Written & Directed By: Robert Eggers

Rated: R

Running Time: 132 min.

* * * 1/2 (out of four stars) -OR- A-