Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu | Photo from IMDB

The story of Nosferatu has come a long way since its first release in 1922. What was once a novel (Bram Stoker’s 1897 classic, Dracula)-turned-silent film, has since evolved into a horror classic reimagined various times throughout its history. Though these adaptations have not always been accurate to Stoker’s original, the tales of Dracula have unfolded into various cinematic worlds, most notably in its first adaptation by F.W. Murnau in 1922, Werner Herzog’s 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre, and most recently, Nosferatu by Robert Eggers.

Notable for his previous works The Witch and The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers has developed a reputation for delivering dark films that edge into the realm of horror and folklore. With a cinematographic style (by Jarin Blaschke) that leads viewers into a chilling journey inside worlds so dark that they’re almost always seemingly in black and white—save for the stark images of blood—Eggers is no stranger to the gothic and the grisly that make up the landscape of his latest film, Nosferatu.

Pegged as his “most personal film,” Egger’s Nosferatu has been in the making for over a decade, with the director’s bond to the vampiric tale stemming from a childhood fascination. Though the story takes from the original, silent adaptation by Murnau, the director drove the production under the influence of his “own memories and personal experiences amplified and transposed to 1830s Baltic Germany,” where the story takes place. 

Much like the 1922 original, Nosferatu sets its scene in the German town of Wisburg. But in Eggers’ take, he first takes us back a few years into the early 1800s, filling in the blanks that have been left by previous adaptations. With a prologue, Eggers depicts the beginning of Nosferatu’s dark reign, introducing Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) as the young girl whose loneliness became the driving force to a lifetime cursed with darkness. 

Forwarding to 1838, Ellen is now married to Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), a real estate agent commissioned by his employer to sell a house to client Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Plagued by nightmares and visions of death, Ellen takes this affliction as an ill omen, causing her to plead for her husband to decline his assignment. Thomas, however, continues with his task, leaving his wife under the care of his friend Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his wife Anna (Emma Corin), a wealthy couple who deals with Ellen’s seemingly demonic tendencies of nightmares and trances with the help of Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe). 

Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter and Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok in Nosferatu | Photo from IMDB

The film then narrates Thomas’ journey to the forbidden land of Transylvania where he eventually meets Count Orlok, unleashing a series of events that plague not just the entirety of Wisburg, but also the life of Ellen as the object of the vampire’s desires.

Though each adaptation has carried the same eerie air (and the same rat-filled landscape), Eggers’ version is an even more grotesque and terrifying portrayal of the story of Nosferatu. As Ellen Hutter, Lily-Rose Depp makes an impressive performance, portraying her character’s physical fits and contortions with practically no CGI involved (in its place, Depp was choreographed through Butoh, a Japanese dance form). 

The image of Depp’s bloody-eyed face with red tears streaming down her cheeks is hard to forget, proving her to be a notable pick from Eggers. Bill Skarsgård continues his horror streak, transforming the classic image of the bald, elfishly pale Count Orlok into a more gruesome entity (though more monstrous than vampiric), whose seemingly giant-like appearance—tainted with rotting flesh and a mustache to conceal the fangs that lie beneath—has garnered Academy Award buzz for ”Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling,” comprising 1 out of 4 Oscar nominations.

For fans of Bram Stoker’s tale, Nosferatu is worth seeing to witness Eggers’ immersive reimagining of a classic. For horror lovers, the film has its share of frightening moments, with the potential as a modern horror classic. And, for those in it for the full cinematic experience, catch Nosferatu in local theaters starting February 26.