I’ve always viewed director/writer Robert Eggers as an “anti-Wes Anderson.” Whereas Anderson’s movies are often light and playful, Eggers’ films are black-and-gray edifices that feel like they’re sitting on my chest as I watch them. That’s not a negative thing, of course. There are a wide variety of movies out there, and I appreciate all kinds of genres. I suppose a good way to look at Eggers and Anderson is salt versus sweet, and how sometimes those things can actually go together well. Anyone up for a double-feature of Nosferatu and The Royal Tenenbaums?
Okay, with that out of the way, yes, Eggers’ latest movie is another tour de force, a remake of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which was, of course, loosely adapted from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. That book is now in the public domain, but I appreciate Eggers’ desire to craft a horror movie not beholden to most moviegoers’ idea of who Dracula is. Set in 1838, Nosferatu follows the trials and tribulations of Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and Thomas Hunter (Nicholas Hoult), who are recently married and live in Wisburg, Germany. Determined to curry favor with his employer, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), he accepts an assignment to travel to Transylvania and complete the sale of an old mansion in Wisburg to a man known as Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Orlok is, of course, a creepy, shadowy presence who has a supernatural effect on Thomas. The young man manages to escape and Orlok sets out for Wisburg in his coffin, which is aboard a ship whose crew is also unknowingly bringing plague rats with them. Meanwhile, Ellen is suffering from seizures and somnambulism, thanks to a psychic pact she unwittingly made with Orlok when she was younger. Her doctor, unable to figure out a cure for what ails her, decides to ask for the advice of his old mentor, Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe), who is well-versed in the mythology surrounding Nosferatu. As the plague infects Wisburg and Orlok infects the mind of Herr Knock, Thomas and his friend Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) work with von Franz to devise a plan for getting rid of the vampire once and for all.
Nosferatu is certainly worthy of all the accolades it has received, which include four Academy Award nominations, albeit of the technical variety. It’s a worthy update to F.W. Murnau’s Expressionist classic. This Blu-ray edition of the movie comes with a code for a digital copy and a nice batch of extras, including an extended cut of the film that adds four minutes to the runtime. That extra footage is also available in the form of three deleted scenes. The bonus features kick off with a commentary track with Eggers that does a good job of digging into the making of the film. I always appreciate highly skilled filmmakers who have a very specific sense of style and enjoy talking about their work, like Eggers. Universal has also provided a making-of split into six parts that run about 38 minutes total. The big takeaway from them is the fact that Eggers, unsurprisingly, tries to capture as much as he can in-camera, but, of course, digital effects were still required to fill out many scenes (Just as Francis Coppola did with his Bram Stoker’s Dracula). The Blu Ray picture and sound are quite outstanding! Which showcases the cinematography of Jaron Blaschke. I’d be very interested to see what Eggers comes up with next.
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