‘I Watched The New Nosferatu Film – It Put The Fear Right In Me’

One of the latest offerings at Douglas’ Palace Cinema is ‘Nosferatu’, a new addition to Robert Eggers’ filmography and an entertaining continuation of his gothic, murky and monochrome style.

The film follows the typical ‘Dracula’ story of a haunted young woman and a vampire who becomes infatuated with her.

I wasn’t clued up on the story of Dracula before I saw this, but even without seeing other adaptations it really feels like Eggers did the story justice.

Some of the camera work in Nosferatu is exceptional, which is by now to be expected from Eggers. His films are great to look at, and he has such a unique style which really suited this story.

In this adaptation, it was great how it was so focused on the relationship, obsession and spiritual connection between Nosferatu and Ellen, portrayed by the outstanding Lily-Rose Depp (yes, Pirates of the Carribean star Johnny Depp’s daughter).

Depp’s emotional depth (mostly distress – bless her) is coupled with her physical movements – while she is being possessed by Nosferatu – to make a really incredible performance that should be up for multiple awards.

It’s one of the best acting performances I’ve seen for a very long time, and surely one which catapults Depp into stardom. I’m excited to see more of her.

It wasn’t just Depp who gave a great performance however, as the whole star-studded cast were all great, notably Nicholas Hoult and Willem Dafoe. Dafoe has now appeared in three of Eggers’ four films to date, and has been great in every one.

Another positive aspect of this film was just how scary it was! I didn’t expect to be on edge as films don’t usually scare me too much, but Eggers’ slow camera pans sometimes put the fear right in me.

One scene in particular made me jump out of my skin, but it didn’t all work – some of the ‘jump scares’ did feel quite cheap.

There’s a lot of gore and gruesomeness, and it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted. I personally loved that side of it, but if you don’t like blood, I would recommend you stay well away…

I thought the character design of Nosferatu was also very satisfying. The perception of vampires has somewhat changed since the Robert Pattinson ‘Twilight’ and ‘Vampire Diaries’ TV series days, but this showed us what vampires should really be – grotesque, deformed, raspy and, most importantly, ugly.

I could’ve done with subtitles at times to understand what he was saying, but he was portrayed brilliantly by Bill Skarsgard.

If you go to see this film and enjoy it, I highly recommend Eggers’ other films to date – ‘The Witch’ (2015), ‘The Lighthouse’ (2019) and ‘The Northman’ (2022).

All four of his films are similar in their mythical and dark nature, and I would go as far to say that his particular style is currently one of my favourites in the industry.

Overall, Nosferatu was exactly what I expected it to be – engrossing and macabre with great performances and a brilliant ending. I can’t wait to see what Eggers decides to do next.