Robert Eggers might be my favourite Western film-maker working today. He absolutely knocked it out of the park with his debut feature The Witch and followed it up with one of my favourite movies of all time –The Lighthouse. Even his third outing, The Northman, was visually interesting and has that Eggers charm despite feeling more like a by-the-book, for the studio movie. While I’m not sure anything could top The Lighthouse for me, I’m pleased to say that with Nosferatu (2024), Eggers is back at the top of his game.

Nosferatu (2024) follows Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose Depp) who says goodbye to her new husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) as he journeys off on a potentially life-changing business trip to sell a Wisburg house to a foreign count. However, it turns out that Thomas might be doing business with someone terrible from Ellen’s past – leaving her to wrestle with an increasing encroachment of an otherwordly horror.

Those who are well versed in the original Nosferatu or Dracula’s many adaptions might not find an entirely mind-blowing experience here: However, the decision by Eggers to reframe the story around Lilly Rose Depp’s Ellen Hutter presents a very interesting look at a lonely, desperate woman out of time who ends up inadvertently caught in a particularly tricky “love triangle” of sorts.

The two standout performances are Lily Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård. Depp is a fantastic Ellen Hutter, conveying the trauma and misery of a supernatural affliction/ vampiric stalker with depth; Skarsgård completely disappears into the role of Orlok in terms of physicality, voice, and some fantastic makeup/ prosthetic work. Orlok has the potential to be a somewhat goofy character, but due to the film’s commitment to the tone and Skarsgård’s presence in the role, he’s just terrifyingly creepy.

Nicholas Hoult is great as Ellen’s husband Thomas Hutter, wrestling with his need to provide financial and emotional security to his new wife. Willem Dafoe is not at all wasted as Albin Eberhart Von Franz, Ralph Ineson brings gravitas to the role of Doctor Wilhelm Sievers and Emma Corrin plays Ellen’s concerned friend Anna Harding well. The only performance I wasn’t too keen on was Aaron Taylor Johnson as Friedrich Harding, who was playing a bit of a doubting everyman type but didn’t quite convince me in some of the more emotional moments.

As expected from an Eggers-helmed production, everything looks beautiful on screen. Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke’s return provides some truly beautiful shots, many of which are perfectly framed at key moments of bizarre, uncanny or otherwise terrifying happenings. All the locations and costumes ooze authenticity, capturing you with the dark, soggy streets of Wisburg and the biting cold of the snowy Carpathian Alps. These starkly beautiful shots are all accompanied by an atmospheric, haunting score from composer Robin Carolan.

For newcomers and vampire veterans alike, Nosferatu (2024) presents a gripping tale of romance, loneliness and lust. Eggers has proved that Gothic horror cinema never died – it was just waiting for the sun to set to slink out of its coffin.

And there you have it – my first “proper post” in some time, and back on the film reviews! If you have any thoughts on Nosferatu (2024) or my review, why not pop it in a comment down below, or let me know on Twitter. If you have a couple of squid going, my Ko-Fi can be found here. Until next time, dear readers, take care!