Nosferatu

Wow I loved this! As has been with both films before this one, the best part for me was Count Orlok. I think that possibly, this portrayal may have been the most pleasing to watch. Bill Skarsgård did an excellent job at training his voice to sound that way- completely unrecognisable! I also loved how fucking disgusting he looked, so much work went into that makeup. I am so delighted they took their time in revealing the full extent of him to the audience and even more so that they concealed him during the promotion prior to its release.  The visuals were absolutely stunning! So many wonderful shots. A particular favourite was Thomas’s walk through the forest to meet the coach which opened by itself in a most eerie fashion. Nicholas Hoult did an excellent job, particularly when portraying Thomas’s terror while alone in the castle with Orlok.  The only thing I’m not entirely certain about and which stopped me from giving this five stars is the performance from Lily Rose Depp. I was impressed with her up until any scenes with her seizures. I still can’t decide whether I found her possession to be ridiculous and over the top. Her accent was very convincing though, I’ll give her that. I think I need to rewatch before deciding completely whether I was a fan of her scenes. Overall though, I had a great time and will definitely be seated again! Edit: after having some time to stew, I’ve realised how little I cared for Ellen’s character. I strongly disliked the idea of her being “possessed” by Orlok. A strange choice to me. Having all of her darkness and sick desire for the Count to be reduced to a simple possession beyond her control feels very lazy to me. Everyone raving about how much they loved her character confused me greatly. Were it Ellen’s struggle with her own desire for a monster without the lazy addition of demonic possession, I would have enjoyed it much better. I don’t understand how people are taking this as her own repression of her desire when the film portrays this as beyond her control- a result of her being controlled by a dark force. Lazy and uninventive. Rather than leaning into her lust for a monster (like in the Francis Ford Coppola adaptation, even despite its flaws) the film keeps her reputation and purity in tact by presenting this darkness to be the work of a sinister force rather than something which has blossomed within Ellen and Ellen alone.