Goth Chick News: Gushing Over Nosferatu

Goth Chick News: Gushing Over Nosferatu

This is a true story.

Like most young people, the first couple of cars I drove were crap. However, I eventually got to the point in my career when I was able to purchase my first car for love. It was not only a gorgeous little black sports model with a stick shift, a rocking stereo system, and all the bells and whistles, but I also tagged it with my dream “vanity” license plate – NOS4AH2

Aside from indicating I had (and have) the taste in cars of a sixteen-year-old boy, and that my idea of what’s “cool” might be far closer to “geeky” than I care to think about, it shows I have had a long love of the original movie vampire.

When I first told you about Robert Egger’s film Nosferatu in July 2024, the first trailer had just dropped. Not much was known about it other than in the context of its historical 1922 predecessor which was a literal rip off of Dracula, and that Eggar’s movie was a remake.

Eggers’s journey to creating his adaptation of Nosferatu was a culmination of lifelong passion, meticulous research, and a series of professional developments. His fascination with the original 1922 film by F.W. Murnau began in his youth, inspiring him to adapt the story for the stage during high school. This early endeavor ignited his interest in filmmaking and set the foundation for his future projects. Over the years, he dedicated significant time to developing the script, ensuring a deep understanding of vampire lore and the historical context of the original film.

Eggers’s previous works, including The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019), showcased his talent for crafting atmospheric period pieces, further preparing him for the complex task of reimagining Count Orlok. By 2022, with a refined vision and increased industry clout, Eggers began work in earnest on Nosferatu. He assembled a cast including Bill Skarsgård as the Count, Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen, and Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter.

Skarsgård getting his Orlok on

It was with Christmas giddiness that I went straight to the theater on December 25th to see Nosferatu at the first showing on its opening day. What I saw was cinematic gold worthy of the term “classic horror.” Instead of buckets of blood and cheap jump scares, Eggers served up an atmospheric story that built an ever-mounting dread. Using camera filters that blocked warm colors, the scenes he filmed give the feel of black and white darkness where long shadows hang. Eggers’s dedication to authenticity was evident in his meticulous attention to detail, from set designs inspired by 19th-century landscapes to sourcing period-specific materials for costumes.

Unlike the practical effects in the werewolf films I recently told you about, Egger used practical effects successfully and to the extreme. Word on the Hollywood grapevine is that 5000 live rats were employed to run through the sets and crawl on the actors. While the exact number of actual wolves employed has not been publicly specified, there were at least a dozen. Hoult recounted a particularly intense scene where his character, Thomas Hutter, is pursued by these wolves. He described the experience noting that the wolves were held back on leashes, barking with “death in their eyes.” During one take, Hoult slipped and narrowly escaped through a window as the wolves were released after him.

Though Willem Dafoe as the VanHelsing character, Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz caught some critic shrapnel for playing himself more than the character, I thought the performances were incredible. Lily-Rose Depp had me mesmerized, one minute the innocent young wife and the next a wonton, demon-possessed bride of the vampire. She made me wonder if dear old dad is proud, or dying of envy.

Skarsgård as Count Orlok however, really brought the magic. Having lost a significant amount of weight and, refusing to have his voice digitally modulated, Skarsgård worked with the Icelandic opera singer Ásgerður Júníusdóttir to lower his vocal range, incorporating Mongolian throat singing into his lines. He also spent up to six hours a day having prosthetic makeup applied to embody a vampiric vision that was truly unique to this film. Skarsgård likened his experience to “conjuring pure evil,” which I truly felt every time he took the screen.

Yes, Eggars really used live rats…

As of last weekend, Nosferatu has made $167M against a $50M production budget, making it a box office success by Hollywood terms. The film is also streaming now, while still appearing in theaters and as of January 24th, a “director’s cut” is available. You know I snagged that and the best thing about it is more screen time for Skarsgård.

Nosferatu has also been nominated for four Oscars: Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up & Hair, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design. I think it will take at least two of these.

So, after a long dry spell I have the opportunity to actually gush over a horror movie and Nosferatu will go down as one of my personal favs.

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