Nosferatu (2025)

Robert Eggers's remake of FW Murnau’s 1922 German expressionist silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is, as you'd imagine, quite something. Eggers's fourth feature harks back to his excellent 2015 debut feature, The Witch, in terms of its folklore, rituals and -at times- the mise-en-scene on display and can also be classed as a horror feature.

Nosferatu isn't on the same level as The Witch when it comes to its chilling subject matter however; by now we're well versed in the tale of Dracula despite its many cinematic outings, and Eggers's film failed to render me helpless in my seat and scared out of my mind. But, thankfully, unlike so many films selling themselves as a horror, this shortcoming doesn't affect the quality of output on display here.

Nicholas Hoult is on fine form (again- he's everywhere at the moment it seems) as Thomas Hutter, a man sent by his employer on a lengthy journey to Transylvania to present the deeds of a ruined mansion to an 'eccentric client' who supposedly has 'one foot in the grave'. We all know what's to come, and Hutter is on his way, leaving his disturbed wife (a superb Lily-Rose Depp) to her hideous nightmares and fits that posses her- trials and tribulations that had initially left her after her marriage to Hutter.

Eggers's sense of setting is one of his greatest attributes, and his 1830's gothic architecture and gorgeous design place you front and center in experiencing Hutter's journey into the abyss as he meets Bill Skarsgard's Count Orlock and all hell, quite literally, breaks loose. Despite the presence of Nosferatu, this is Depp's film; her Ellen is one of the finest recent female horror characters and comfortably and at times staggeringly sucks you into her possessed mind, unleashing her love and hate all at once in visceral scenes of inner turbulence, spectacularly captured by Eggers.

It's not all doom and gloom though; Eggers's Hammer Horror influences are on full display as he frequently produces conversations rife with playfulness and comedy, but never over the top enough to render the point of all this nonsensical.

Despite the fact that Eggers's, in my opinion, is on his best form when working with originality (The Witch [2015], The Lighthouse [2019]), Nosferatu is a much finer film than his last work, The Northman (2022) which although impressive, was muddled in its execution. Here, despite working from a source that's over one hundred years old (if we take it as a straight remake of FW Murnau's 1922 piece) this is a truly impressive piece of work, with some outstanding performances.

No it's not as good as The Witch, and no, it isn't terrifying (or particularly scary for that matter) but Nosferatu finds Eggers back on form after a slight mis-step with The Northman, and should really be seen on the big screen. 7.7/10