Nosferatu (2024) - Movie Review

What if I told you that Robert Eggers made a feminist horror movie in 2025?—

Woah, Woah, Woah… Let me finish.

What if I told you he made a traditional feminist film that rejects the heavy-handed sermons meant for the modern audience, and instead provides a heart wrenching narrative alongside some of the best cinematography and art direction ever utilized in film?

Yeah, it’s that damn good.

Let’s discuss.

Nosferatu is a 2024 gothic horror film brought to us by writer/director/iconoclast Robert Eggers. As anyone who’s read my reviews in the past knows, I’m an absolute slut for Robert Eggers films. His gothic approach to cinema and the almost Hans Christian Andersen way he approaches the brutal finality of his stories is the main draw for me. Oh, and the fact that he’s a goddamned artist who makes film to appeal to his audience—an audience which has grown exponentially film to film—Just as Eggers films have slowly gone from dense explorations of ancient folklore to more palatable narratives of madness and the obscene. With Nosferatu, he’s reached a pinnacle I don’t know if we will ever see again.

While 2015’s The VVitch provided an unflinching look at how zealotry destroys the family unit from within. As push too hard in one direction, the world is more than likely to turn back against you— 

Nosferatu explores how ambition is the enemy of love.

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Eggers masterfully blends both the 1922 film with the Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. It’s a seamless melding of form and function, providing a more nightmarish take than either monster had previously. The story is essentially the Dracula tale, but with all the fluff cut out. I know that sounds ludicrous as this movie has a runtime of 2 hours and 11 minutes, but here’s the amazing thing. The movie flies by, because there is nary a scene that doesn’t have action, intrigue, or dread. Every scene you’re left waiting for the oh shit moment, and there are plenty.

 History Break: Did you know that the original Nosferatu from 1922 was intended to be a direct adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula? It’s true, Due to Stoker’s estate’s protestations, the filmmakers were forced to alter the character to prevent copyright litigation. Thus, Nosferatu is not related to bats whatsoever and instead is more akin to a rat.  

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It helps that Eggers script is both regionally and historically accurate while speeding up traditional old world language pace. The dialogue is delivered fast and furious but maintains its traditional vocabulary and cadence. It’s masterful but wouldn’t work had the cast not been absolutely stacked.

First, let me first say this.

I take back everything I’ve ever said about Lily-Rose Depp. Yes, I still hate her previous starring vehicles: the 2016 dumpster fire Yoga Hosers and the atrocious self-flagellating television show The Idol, which I thought was a career killer as it was lambasted by critics and viewers and cratered in overall viewership in its last three episodes due to the absurdly graphic nature of the content and the taint-thin plot. I’m glad I was wrong.

Lily-Rose Depp gives a powerhouse performance, and the fact that she was not nominated for the best actress Oscar shows just how meaningless and broken the Oscars have become.

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In a time of so called progressive thinking, the fact that she was snubbed is an affront to film as the entire film hinged on her performance, and the range she displayed from the raw physicality of her seizures, the animosity of her possessions, and the heart-breaking tenderness innate to the character combine into a woman you root for in the end. She’s the best heroine we’ve had—and the actress perfectly embodied the age old ideal of the tragic damsel. As the damsel in distress is an American ideal. The European idea of a damsel more often than not, was the hero—if not in a Pyrrhic sense.

She’s supported by the likes of Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, and the incredible gravitas of Ralph Ineson (aka the dad from the VVitch).

Oh, the monster?

Oh, Billy Boy gets  his own shoutout.

Bill Skarsgard’s casting initially made me not want to see the movie.

Yes, I know he makes women’s (and some men’s) panties drop. I also know he’s incredibly talented and I’m actually a huge fan. However, I also despised his performance in Andy Muschietti’s IT remake. Yeah, he looked great—but the fact that they CGI’d every inch of him including his eyes ruined the movie and Skarsgard’s performance felt fake because of it.

Thus, I was turned off on him playing the creature.

However, I was so very wrong.

Bill Skarsgard gives the performance of his career.

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He’s unrecognizable, not just in physicality—other than the massive schlong—and vocally. I watched the film twice, and I couldn’t relate Nosferatu’s voice to Bill’s whatsoever. I know the sound mixing can help, but his traditional pronunciations of Romanian words as well as his pained manner of speech were both brilliant. The physicality is also incredible, with physical ticks and mannerisms hinting at the grotesquery underneath the thin veil of humanity.

I love that Eggers, in a nod to Stoker’s Dracula, gave Orlok the massive mustache that the vampire displayed in Stoker’s Novel.

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The practical effects in the film as top tier, and Skaarsgard’s Count Orlok is no exception. The minute details on his costuming tell a story. The horrific wounds and deformities in his body also tell their own stories. The CGI is well used, and outside of one obvious scene—it’s well hidden—enhancing the practical elements.

The costuming, special effects, and music are also all top notch.

This film takes a classical tale and makes it palatable to the modern audience. It’s brutal, unflinching, and utterly unforgettable. Rarely is there a movie that runs over 2 hours this rewatchable.

This is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

You need to check this one out, ASAP.

As of this writing, the film is available for rent and purchase at all retailers.