The very moment I heard that Robert Eggers was remaking Nosferatu, I knew I had to see it. Even though I have yet to see anything he has made. Yes, this is true. I, lifelong horror fan that I am, have not seen The Witch, The Lighthouse, or The Northman. So it goes.
Want to know what is worse than that? I have not seen the original silent film, nor have I seen Werner Herzog's 1979 remake of it. I have only seen images and snippets from both.
Yet I still knew that this version of Nosferatu was going to be my kind of thing.
At least that was my expectation and, let us be honest, expectations can and are dashed and disappointed a great many times. This is just the way of the world.
But, I am glad to share, this was not one of those times. My expectations were, for the most part, met and I walked out of the Christmas Day matinee screening I attended both satisfied and happy with what I had just seen. Nosferatu had, in fact, been my kind of movie. I loved most of it.
The part I did not love, but still liked, was the film's middle section. After being sucked in, pun intended, by the glorious atmospherics and being kept on the edge of my seat, awaiting the reveal of the dreaded Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), the middle section seemed to drag. It did not lose me, but I did find myself thinking, "Man, they need to pick up the pace here."
I can forgive it that, because the film's final act and conclusion delivered some ghoulish delights and gruesome jolts. It delivered the kind of movie that I had wanted, expected, Bram Stoker's Dracula to be. A viewing experience that was atmospheric, unsettling, and actually scary.
Nosferatu is one of this year's best horror films. Highly recommended.
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