SPOILER WARNING FOR NOSFERATU (2024)
Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of horror movies, as I’m quite cowardly in that sense. Why would I put myself in a situation that would stress me out for a solid hour and a half? And on purpose, at that. Well, it turns out that I would put myself through a stress-inducing movie for two hours and 12 minutes because I thought that it would be aesthetically pleasing. Lord knows where my sense of self-preservation went when that decision was made.
Was I absolutely terrified of the titular vampire to the point where I wasn’t sure if I would ever want to see the film again? Absolutely. Was I also enthralled by the compelling story, stunning set pieces, and gorgeous costuming? Again, absolutely. Nosferatu actually was a wonderful experience that left me awed and disgusted, moved, and stuck to my seat all at once. And, as terrifying as it was, I actually want to rewatch it!
While I had originally intended to try and convince my father to go with me (he dislikes horror even more than I do), I’m actually glad I got to experience this film on my own. I’m not sure how he would’ve processed my reactions to the events that transpired, or if he would question why there was so much curiosity in my gaze as I observed such madness, violence, and uncertainty unfold. I recall feeling my heart beating at what felt like a million beats per minute as tensions rose among the characters and the stakes grew, the threat of total perdition into darkness and death looming over the horizon as Nosferatu/Orlok’s plot unfolded.
While the entire star-studded cast did incredible jobs portraying their characters, Lily-Rose Depp’s physical acting and her choices about showing the possession’s effects on Ellen truly captivated me. The mood swings, seizures, and varied forms of distress felt visceral, leaving me both concerned for and fearful of her character; a truly award-worthy performance. The rest of the cast, including Bill Skårsgard as Nosferatu/Count Orlok, Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter, and Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, played their characters in a very realistic way, with all their actions and choices feeling very genuine and, at times, relatable.
As for the horror aspects of Nosferatu, they were absolutely present and incredible. The only real interaction I had had with a vampire movie had been the mind-numbing experience of watching the first Twilight movie (please don’t come for me). Now, I was thrown into a world in which the vampire looked like a decaying corpse held together purely by bloodlust and evil, not to mention the very violent and animalistic feeding habits which Nosferatu has. Every scene that Count Orlok had a hand in felt heavy and intimidating as the dread settled itself on the characters and the audience. Thomas’s fear and unwellness during his stay at Castle Orlok felt so real, given how we saw him deteriorate physically and mentally as the vampire fed on him. Later, when the creature arrives in Wisburg and visits Ellen, his threats seemed to rattle my bones, and his violent murders left me petrified. Bill Skårsgard disappeared into the character so well and gave what is definitely one of his greatest (nightmare-inducing) performances.
About the movie itself…
Plot (Wikipedia)
In the 1830s, estate agent Thomas Hutter travels to Transylvania for a fateful meeting with Count Orlok, a prospective client. In his absence, Hutter’s new bride, Ellen, is left under the care of their friends, Friedrich and Anna Harding. Plagued by horrific visions and an increasing sense of dread, Ellen soon encounters an evil force that’s far beyond her control.
TW: mentions of sexual assault
Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) serves as the protagonist for the film. Through her eyes, we see how she has been in touch with the supernatural world from a young age, calling upon whatever entity she could reach to help ease her loneliness. Unfortunately, her desperate pleas have awakened the nefarious presence of the vampyr Nosferatu (Bill Skårsgard), who has Ellen pledge herself to him before he assaults her, leaving her severely traumatized. Years later, she has apparently recovered from her premonitions and nightmares, which she attributes to meeting and being in a relationship with her husband, Thomas (Nicholas Hoult). However, after a specific dream in which she marries Death and is happy to see all her loved ones dead, Ellen finds that the darkness that plagued her before has returned. She tells Thomas about her fears — how the dream was a bad omen for his sudden work trip — but finds that he dismisses the concerns, insisting on traveling for their sake.
This is the beginning of a pattern throughout the movie of the men in Ellen’s life dismissing her concerns as “melancholy,” “hysteria,” or perhaps some other mysterious ailment. In the past, Ellen’s own father scorned her for her visions and nightmares, and it’s implied that he had threatened to institutionalize her at some point, dismissing her fear and assault. During the present time, Thomas asks her never to speak of things such as her nightmares and ignores her wishes for him to remain in Wisburg with her instead of going to Orlok’s castle at Herr Knock’s request. Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) literally has Ellen tied to her bed during the nights she spends at his and his wife’s, Anna’s (Emma Corrin) home, due to her somnambulism and raving. Even Dr. Sievers (Ralph Ineson) partakes in mistreating Ellen via his “treatments,” as he encourages having her sleep in her corset and consistently has her under the effects of a potent sedative.
It wasn’t until Professor Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) approached Ellen that she was finally treated with an inkling of respect by a man in her surroundings. Because he studied the occult, Von Franz recognized that Ellen’s condition was not one borne of regular circumstances; rather, she was possessed by a dark power far beyond human comprehension. Her odd behaviors weren’t nonsensical to him, behaviors which had gotten her labeled as problematic and left her repressed and ostracized even by the people closest to her.
image from collider.com
The darkness within Ellen — one which lies within us all, I think — was made greater by Nosferatu’s influence and branched out into every aspect of her life while simultaneously pushing her further away from those she loved. In that sense, the creature brought out the darkest, purest parts of her and embraced them wholly, as he himself is a being of darkness, an appetite, as he so eloquently phrased it. Nosferatu is clearly a representation of all that we strive to hide from the rest of society, not wanting to be judged or feared for our basest impulses and desires, sexual or otherwise. On that thought, I would like to pose a question for you to consider: if the opportunity presented itself for you to bare every inch of your soul, darkness and all, knowing that it would be accepted and understood, would you not want to take that chance?
[Author’s note: This is just a fun hypothetical I wanted to propose. I don’t condone the way Nosferatu/Orlok went about trying to get Ellen to embrace him and the darkness. Possession, murder, exsanguination, and spreading the bubonic plague are not okay, guys.]
Does evil come from within us or from beyond?
– Ellen Hutter, from Nosferatu (2024)