Nosferatu

Robert Eggers’ magnum opus has arrived. He is known to be very meticulous with his details- accents, outfits, verbiage. And it’s all of that, combined with a phenomenally crafted story, that makes for a decadent nightmare fueled by lust and fear. From the very start, you succumb to the troubles that plague Ellen. And they only get worse and worse. Who is the true star of the movie. I had little faith in Lily Rose-Depp because of parts of her early track record. But I apologize for being incorrect. She is the soul of this movie. It’s like a topsy-turvy of emotions and personas; one second she has to be a loving wife, the next is vulnerable prey dwelling in fear, the other is giving herself up to her possessor, and the last is losing consciousness. It is a remarkable feat that she has to act on in a matter of seconds almost the entire time. A lot of people are wondering how this Count Orlok fares. Well, it’s difficult to explain and will not be what you expect. But every line that Bill Skarsgård delivers haunts every scene he’s in, making anyone else on screen with him tremble in sheer horror. If you are familiar with Eggers’ other projects, then you might have an iota of what to expect. Nicholas Hoult was fantastic as Thomas Hutter; the man has had a hell of a year for projects. The rest of cast works so well. I loved Aaron Taylor Johnson and Willem Dafoe I. Their respective roles. They brought much needed layers to the movie and helped bring the mysticism of vampiric lore to life- and the cynicism that comes with doubting those pedaling that kind of information. I have to go back and say this world is so gorgeous it’s easy to lose yourself in the feint colors. These color palettes are ingenious. It feels like everything is either lit up by moonlight, or by candlelight. Which the latter is true because Eggers wanted, like I said before, a truly authentic feel. Robin Carolan’s score needs to be mentioned at this year’s Academy Awards. I just felt slightly creeped out and on the edge of my seat the entire movie. As if I wasn’t before. It’s like they could be a new filmmaking duo similar to how Spielberg and John Williams work. Horror is obviously subjective, and while this isn’t the scariest movie, it has plenty of shocking and gnarly moments tucked in between the rich story. This is very easily my favorite movie, one that I’ll be watching many more times in my life, and I’m sure will end up being something where I’ll tell people is one of my favorite movies ever.