Nosferatu

I have always loved standing on a high view at night, looking out over a city or over a small community underneath the night sky. Watching all the stars in the skies and hearing different sounds with no people around, it is without a doubt relaxing and makes you think about many different things. Some people fear the night not knowing if there is anything out there among the trees, if they walk along a path there might be an animal looking at them. When i visited my grandfather´s cabin on the West Coast of Sweden i could take a night walk along the small forest walking path towards the ocean. I never felt any fear but actually felt like the night helped me appreciate the darkness, respecting it as well. Most people fear of something no matter if it´s being afraid of the unknown or if you are afraid in general for the dark itself. What if there is something out there that might actually harm you if you enounter a truly evil personality? Whenever i think off the novel Dracula by author Bram Stoker i always feel that this book definetely capture that kind of description of what true evil might look like. This is in my opinion one of the best horror books i have ever read and still to this day remains as one of my favourite novels. Not only is this a very well written novel but i also feel this book explain the fascination we have for the darkness and the fear we might feel for such a evil personality as Dracula. Most of you have probably heard of this story before ( based of the Wallachian prince Vlad The Impaler ) and some of you might have seen the 1922 silent film Nosferatu: A Sympathy Of Horror or perhaps the 1979 remake known as Nosferatu The Vampire. One of my personal recommendations on horror films based on the novel Dracula is the 1958 horror film Dracula from director Terence Fischer. This was the first film legendary actor Christopher Lee played the character known as Dracula and it is a true classic. The best film adaptation so far based on the novel of Dracula is without a doubt Francis Ford Coppola´s 1992 horror film Bram Stoker´s Dracula. This film have everything you could wish for, powerful acting performances, lovely costume designs, very well made practical make up effects and really effective horror scenes. The performance from Gary Oldman in this film is absolutely timeless, one of his greatest acting performances in his career. If you have not seen either Dracula from 1958 or Bram Stoker´s Dracula from 1992 you definetely need to see them. So here we are with a new film adaptation of Nosferatu and this version is directed by Robbert Eggers ( mostly known for his 2015 horror film The Witch ). I picked up a physical copy of this film to especially see the extended cut of Nosferatu since i love to see longer versions than the cinema release. Is this one of the horror films you need to see this spring or have they made a new version of Nosferatu that doesn´t really offer anything exciting at all?

The year is 1838, Ellen Hutter ( Lily-Rose Depp ) lives in Wisborg, Germany with her husband, Thomas Hutter ( Nicholas Hoult ), an estate agent. Thomas, eager to secure a lucrative deal, accepts an assignment to sell a crumbling castle in Wisborg to the enigmatic Count Orlok ( Bill Skarsgård ), unaware that this arrangement is a part of a sinister pact between Orlok and his employer, Herr Knock ( Simon McBurney ), Despite Ellen´s ominous warnings, including a confession of a pre-wedding dream in which her bridegroom was Death, Thomas departs to Orlok´s castle in the Carpathian Mountains, leaving Ellen in the care of his friend Friedrich Harding ( Aaron Taylor-Johnson ). This decision to travel will soon prove to be the biggest mistake Thomas have ever made in his life so far.

If you are familiar with other films from director Robbert Eggers you know he is a very talented film maker and he makes that very clear in Nosferatu as well. Not only is this a really beautiful dark film but this film also manage to capture the true feeling of Dracula that true fans of Bram Stoker´s novel is familiar with. Since i have seen several versions of this novel in different film adaptations i can say that Robbert Eggers version of this classic novel may be one of the better versions in modern years. This film looks so elegant with all the darkness floating around and the colors matches so well in this time period filled with misery and pain. There are other details i must mention that makes Nosferatu such a lovely film experience. Just look at the beautiful costume design this film have and how well it matches with the time period. I feel that the horror influences is very well crafted where you get a sense that true evil may be surrounding each corner, there is no real escape from the dark forces once you encounter it. The acting in this film deliver a lot of really solid performances, especially from actor Bill Skarsgård ( who most of you horror fans are familiar with through the IT films as Pennywise ) as Count Orlok. Now, i have to be honest he is anot as good as Gary Oldman is in Francis Ford Coppola´s film Bram Stoker´s Dracula, but this is still a very powerful performance and show that Bill can take on very challenging characters. Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter is another perfect example of really good casting choice where Nicholas proves hes become a better actor over the years ( especially since Jack The Giant Slayer ). Legndary actor Willem Dafoe is no big surprise that he nails his performance eactly how i would have imagined, delightful and charming as well. I must mention legendary actor Simon McBurney as well, i promise you will be pleased by his performance. Nosferatu may not carry a lot of new ingredients compared to other film adaptations but this is definetely a worthy remake of a true classic. Thanks to really effective horror influences and very professional film making, this latest version is full of details that matches the ground material so well and make this film a exquisite cinematic experience. I am impressed how well director Robbert Eggers managed to make this film look so good as it does. Not as good as Bram Stoker´s Dracula but still a lot better than most modern horror films i have seen in quite some time, Nosferatu should be picked up on a physical copy and be placed next to your Dracula collection. 

Rating: DDDD