Eggers has a way of making the horrific beautiful, and his Nosferatu is the best example of this yet. There is no romanticizing of the vampire here as Orlock is a rotting corpse come to life. He doesn’t de-age into a sexy Gary Oldman after drinking blood; he is constantly a truly disturbing Bill Skarsgård. Eggers makes the first meeting with Orlock equally frightening and hypnotic. It’s easy to understand how Nicholas Hoult’s Thomas could be paralyzed with fear. Yet the film itself isn’t what I would consider properly scary; it’s more about creating a horrifying experience.
Nosferatu is much more interested in presenting a cinematic experience of horror. There are so many expertly staged shots that many frames look like paintings come to life, and when Willem Dafoe shows up with nearly every line sounding like poetry, the movie completely takes you into this dark, beautiful world.
The world of Nosferatu that’s always been more interesting and darker than that of most Dracula adaptations is the more monstrous and deadly version of the vampire. He brings a literal plague with him when he arrives. This gives the story an appropriately apocalyptic feel.
Of course, all the bad vibes in the world are wasted if the performances aren’t there. Skarsgård is the go-to monster these days for good reason, and he somehow creates his own take on one of cinema’s most iconic characters. But Lily-Rose Depp is the most impressive, easily portraying inner and outer turmoil. One scene near the end should make her a shoe-in for starring in an Evil Dead movie. Hoult proves he can be serious as well as funny in a vampire movie after last year’s Renfield. And Willem Dafoe serves as a perfect guide to the supernatural world, running around calling the vampire a “night demon” and whatnot.
Every aspect of the film comes together to create a unique, horror experience unlike any other adaptation of the source material. At first glance, the idea of yet another vampire movie may create skepticism as it did with me, but immediately the film grabs you and doesn’t let you go until the sun comes up. Sorry about that. I’ll stop now.
Random Thoughts
“My dear husband, there’s something I need to tell you now that we are wed. Years ago, in an act of desperation, I summoned an ancient evil to satiate my carnal desires. I thought it was a passing fancy, but apparently the entity sees it as a more permanent situation. So fate, and a deranged real estate agent, will conspire to bring him here. A plague will follow him, and he will personally kill everyone I love until I swear myself to him and let him corpse-fuck me. Now enjoy your work trip to the Carpathians; I’m sure it’s not related to this.”
The count’s name is Orlock? At least it’s not something evil-sounding, like Dracula.
This Orlock doesn’t take dainty bullshit sips like other vampires; he’s straight up chugging that blood.
I think Dafoe could’ve made his trance point without pushing the needle all the way through her arm.
The scene with Thomas and a possessed Ellen is some straight up Evil Dead shit.
It seems like Hoult has been in ten movies this year, but it’s actually four: this, The Garfield Movie, Juror #2, and The Order.
The choice for the bite to be directly on the chest is creepy. Makes sense to go directly to the source, I guess. And it really seems like he’s drinking blood. Too often in vampire movies there’s a bite sound, and then there’s this little trickle of blood on the neck, like the vampire just stopped in for a sip. These motherfuckers would be gulping this shit down.
No comments:
Post a Comment