It’s never easy to remake a classic and when it is as big as something like Nosferatu, a filmmaker has to be very careful with how he or she should be moving forward with the project. Thankfully, Robert Eggers knows how to keep fans glued to their seats and provide a unique perspective on a story that is actually very well known. Eggers’ version of Nosferatu is similar to the original movie released in 1922, based on the 1897 novel, Dracula, by Bram Stoker. However, the filmmaker didn’t leave any stone unturned to put his signature touch on this terrifying story and come forward with an extraordinary film filled with genuine horror elements and epic storytelling.
Nosferatu chronicles the journey of a young woman named Ellen (played by Lily Rose-Depp) who pleads for someone to listen to her and find someone (even if that’s a supernatural being) to ease her loneliness. However, things go haywire when her cries awaken a mysterious creature who tells her to pledge herself to him for an eternity. Years later, viewers see Ellen leading a happy life with her husband Thomas (played by Nicholas Hoult) and finally getting out of the grasp of that terrifying creature. To help his family financially, Thomas accepts an assignment in which he has to travel to Transylvania’s Carpathian Alps and sell an old manor to the reclusive Count Orlok (played by Bill Skarsgard). When Thomas tells Ellen about the assignment, she tells him that her dreams are back and the terrifying creature is once again calling out to her. Moreover, she says that she sees death in her dreams. But Thomas tells her to stay calm and leaves for the assignment, leaving her in the care of his friend, Friedrich Harding (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and his pregnant wife, Anna (played by Emma Corrin).
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What viewers witness next is the stuff of nightmares. The oppressive atmosphere in Nosferatu is almost suffocating as the camera lingers on Count Orlok’s unsettling, corpse-like visage. Each deliberate movement he makes feels like a threat, a creeping shadow that invades the edges of the screen.
What happens between Count Orlok and Thomas?
As soon as he reaches a village near Count Orlok’s castle, every resident there tries to tell him not to meet Orlok because he is a curse. Nevertheless, Thomas gets a room to spend the night when he sees something outside his window. He sees the residents of the village taking a young woman to a cemetery, where Thomas sees the residents exhuming and impaling an alleged vampire’s blood with a pointy weapon. Thomas screams “no” after seeing that and at that moment, the corpse vomits blood. The following morning, Thomas finds that the entire village is empty, and his horse is also gone. As a result, he makes his way to the castle on foot, and at night, he is approached by an unmanned carriage that takes him to Count Orlok’s castle.
Thomas finally meets Count Orlok, a giant man who wants to complete the formalities of the sale quickly. During his time there, Orlok congratulates Thomas on his marriage and keeps the locket Ellen gave him. Although he wanted to leave that night, Orlok told him not to travel because he looked sick. So, he is forced to spend the night at the castle. But when he gets up in the morning, he finds bite marks on his chest. Plagued by worsening illness, Thomas stumbles upon Orlok resting in a coffin, and seizes the moment to destroy him. However, Orlok awakens before Thomas can act, draining him of blood once more. Weak and desperate, Thomas flees through the forest, narrowly evading Orlok’s wolves. Collapsing near a church, he is taken in and cared for by compassionate Orthodox nuns. As Thomas clings to life, Orlok sets sail for Wisburg, bringing death in his wake as plague-ridden rats overrun the ship, leaving its crew lifeless.
On the other hand, Thomas, without having fully recovered, gets on a horse and makes his way to Wisburg to tell Ellen that she was right all along and Count Orlok or the creature is coming to get her.
Is Ellen experiencing nightmares again?
In Wisburg, Ellen’s condition is getting worse because the creature is scaring her and telling her that he will come and take her. She experiences seizures that the doctor is not able to solve. That’s when the doctor tells Friedrich that he should call in his former mentor, Albin Eberhart Von Franz (played by Willen Dafoe), a scientist who has been cornered for his beliefs in occult science. After seeing Ellen for the first time, Albin believes that she is under the spell of Nosferatu, a plague-bearing vampire, who wants to have her.
Meanwhile, Nosferatu has reached Wisburg and that’s when the plague starts. Also, he tells her that Thomas signed the papers of leaving her and giving his wife to me for money. On the other hand, Orlok comes into Ellen’s dreams and tells her that she has re-pledge herself to him again and gives her three days to say “yes” to him. If she doesn’t say yes, people will die. Initially, the creature kills Anna and her two children to make Ellen realize that he would do anything and everything to get to him. Elsewhere, Ellen and Thomas get themselves into an argument where Ellen provokes him to make love to him so that she can show Nosferatu how much she loves her husband.
What happens in the end between Ellen and Orlok?
Albin suggests that the only way Orlok can be killed is by a fair maiden’s willing sacrifice. Although Ellen’s husband, Thomas, is ready to kill Orlok and makes a plan for it, Ellen knows that she has to step forward if she wants to end the plague. As a result, she stitches a plan with Albin to kill Orlok. However, they don’t say anything to Thomas because he wouldn’t have let Ellen do it and Orlok would have killed everyone. Albin distracts Thomas while Ellen, dressed in her wedding dress, calls Orlok for the ritual. Thomas and Albin ventured into the eerie confines of Grünewald Manor. Their exploration led them to a chilling discovery – Herr Knock, inexplicably resting within the confines of Orlok’s coffin. The encounter took a tragic turn, culminating in Herr Knock’s demise.
Ellen lures Orlok to her bedroom, offering herself as a distraction. She lets him drink her blood, keeping him occupied until the first rays of dawn. As the sunlight streams in, Orlok succumbs to its deadly touch and perishes. Moments later, Thomas arrives and cradles Ellen’s hand as she breathes her last breath, her sacrifice complete. With Orlok’s lifeless body draped over hers, Albin confirms that her courageous act has lifted the Nosferatu’s curse and freed them from the plague.
Nosferatu is available on VOD on platforms such as Prime Video and Apple TV+.
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