By John Corrado

Nosferatu is the fourth film from director Robert Eggers, and it finds him reimagining F.W. Murnau’s German Expressionist film of the same name from 1922. This passion project from Eggers has shades of his 2015 debut The Witch, but on a much larger scale.

Whether you view this as a remake of the Murnau film, or Eggers paying tribute to the highly influential silent classic, he has crafted another intoxicating work of modern horror, with atmospheric production design and gripping performances that help immerse us in this world.

Where Eggers excels is in the period details, grounding his films in a historical authenticity that makes the supernatural elements even more chilling. Like he did in previous films The Northman, The Lighthouse and The Witch, he transports us back to another time and place. In this case, it’s Germany in the 1800s.

The story remains similar to the earlier version, which was itself an unauthorized copy of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) is a real estate agent who is sent to Transylvania to help Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) acquire property in his city. Thomas discovers that the wealthy count, who lives alone in an old castle and can only meet at night, shares a dark spiritual connection to his new bride Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), who is staying with friends Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna Harding (Emma Corrin) while her husband is away.

Anya Taylor-Joy (star of Eggers’ The Witch) was initially set to play the role of Ellen before Depp was cast instead, but she is in no way a downgrade. Depp delivers a compelling, full-bodied performance that channels Linda Blair in The Exorcist, while also having a necessary innocence about her that works for the role. Willem Dafoe, who previously played original Count Orlok actor Max Schreck in the 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire, makes the most of his role as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a scientist researching the occult who is brought in to examine Ellen. It’s a delicious part for Dafoe.

The most instantly striking aspect of Eggers’ film is Jarin Blaschke’s exceptional cinematography, using largely monochromatic imagery that plays around with deep shadows and contrast. Blaschke’s darkly gorgeous work is filled with memorable imagery, like a shot of Hoult’s character silhouetted at night in the fog feels like another subtle homage to William Friedkin’s The Exorcist. It’s a moody film that is all about light and shadow; or fire and ice, in one striking cut that has flames giving way to falling snow. It could also be classified as a Christmas movie due to its wintery aesthetic and eery holiday setting.

Eggers builds his Nosferatu around a creeping sense of dread, with the story involving the coming of the Black Plague (shown through the terrifying image of rats flooding the city streets). The film moves at a deliberate pace, drawing out its tension with a few well-placed jump moments. Skarsgård’s Orlok is also mostly kept in the shadows, to make his chilling appearances in full makeup even more impactful. It’s all about the intoxicating atmosphere. This is Gothic horror done right.

Film Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)

Nosferatu opens exclusively in theatres on December 25th.