Robert Eggers

[Mr. Reindeer]

Nosferatu is by far Robert Eggers' worst film.

When it comes to visuals, it trades everything that made the original Murnau film interesting and unique for a bland CGI fest. It also turns the narrative into a ridiculous soap opera in order to extend its runtime. It's occasionally even funny in places that were supposed to invoke pure horror. Overall, it's an unnecessary remake that will quickly be forgotten.

I'm surprised to see you refer to it as a "CGI fest." While there was CGI, as there is in every big budget film these days (and most small budget ones as well), I found the use of CG tasteful and judicious. I'm particularly surprised to see you say that Nosferatu was worse than The Northman. Of any Eggers film, THAT one was the CGI fest! In fact, Eggers has expressed regret about caving to studio pressure and using so much CGI on Northman, and very consciously avoided doing that this time (including using 5000 real rats instead of creating them artificially). I thought the movie was stunning visually. Shot on film, with gorgeous use of deep shadow and darkness, and great evocative filters that maintained a truly haunting mood.

 

[Stavrogyn]

Maybe my judgment is a bit clouded because my best friend and I were terribly disappointed by the film, so something flipped in us and turned us into vicious haters. (Maybe our inner Jordan was triggered.) But we hold The Lighthouse in such high regard that the shortcomings of Eggers' latest films seem to be bothering us even more than they probably should.

I didn't like The Northman either, but at least I wasn't sure where exactly the story was heading (even though it was inspired by Hamlet, I guess, but that never occurred to me). I watched the original Nosferatu just four days before the new one, which helped ruin the experience for me because Eggers' film was pale in comparison and, in my opinion, added nothing new - nothing meaningful, that is. (I found the Ellen-Nosferatu soap opera tedious and couldn't wait for both of them to just die so I could go to a bar and start picking it all apart.)

As for the CGI, I'm in no way an expert in those matters, and I heard that Eggers really did mostly use real sets and prosthetics. But except for the Nosferatu make-up, which was well done, the rest of the film looked like the most generic CGI to me, so I found it ugly and uninspired. It was also way too grey and dark, but I'm starting to wonder if there's some issue with the screens in our cinemas because I remember experiencing the same thing with the first Villeneuve Dune, only to find it better looking when I rewatched it at home a few years later, ahead of the sequel.

In any case, I even enjoyed Shadow of the Vampire much, much more, and would recommend that film to any fans of the original instead of the Eggers remake. (Interestingly enough, both films feature Willem Dafoe, who's always such a joy to watch!)

 

[Dom]

I saw the Eggers Nosferatu a couple of days ago. I really enjoyed it. I remember someone discussing Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico as basically the same story, elaborated on and further exaggerated in each telling. I'd argue that this is what the three Nosferatu films do.

I'd characterise the Eggers films as 'Bram Stoker's Dracula's evil twin' (meaning the Francis Ford Coppola film.) There are definite similarities between the two, from the operatic stylings and the references to exotic Transylvanian history to the borderline histrionic performances that reflect exaggerated silent film acting.

The film also reminds me of Dario Argento's Suspiria, with its dreamlike hellscape and exaggerated sets and performances. It's like watching someone else's nightmare when he'd read Stoker's novel, then drunk too much red wine!!

In terms of makeup and costume design, I really liked it. In the 1921 original, Greta Schröder's Ellen is not made look particularly glamorous. By contrast, in the 1978 film, the beautiful Isabelle Adjani is positively luminous. Lily-Rose Depp's beauty is dialled down here, looking a bit dowdy, reflecting her history of psychological problems. She looks pale, wan, one step from the grave. The possession plotline makes some attempt to explain why Orlok wants to travel to Wisborg.

The film is definitely one to describe as 'cold'. Skin tones are pale. Mountains and landscapes are bleak and snow-covered. I understand complaints about the CGI. There were definitely parts where I found myself wishing for a 2D painted backdrop.

I'm going to wait before giving the film a full review, because I really want to see it again. I have the 4K on pre-order, which includes an extended version. I noticed a distinct 'lurch' in the characterisation of Harding, so I suspect we'll see more of him. Also, the iconic images of Orlok placing his coffins on the back of a carriage, then the raft riding over the rapids weren't in this film, so I wonder if we'll see more of that, along with the crew of the ship as it spreads the plague across Europe.

Nevertheless, it was great to see a vampire played as a filthy, unholy, demonic, evil creature of death incarnate, rather than some sort of blushing, misunderstood romantic. Restoring evil to an active, intelligent, corrupting force is quite radical in these postmodern, morally relativist days.

Also, implying that Ellen is somehow 'wed' to Orlok via an agreement with Orlok's ghost from her childhood and thus her marriage to Hutter is a form of bigamy is an interesting twist. She sold her soul for carnal pleasures and evil came calling when she tried to turn her back on her 'marriage vows'.

The Murnau film is one of my favourite films. I've watched it so many times over the last 38 years - on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray - that I know it frame for frame. I even ripped my Eureka Blu-ray recently to create a version with the Christopher Young score. I like Herzog's film, but don't love it: it's not something I compulsively watch. I'll definitely watch the Eggers film again, though. I actually felt worn out after watching it!

 

[Mr. Reindeer]

Maybe my judgment is a bit clouded because my best friend and I were terribly disappointed by the film, so something flipped in us and turned us into vicious haters. (Maybe our inner Jordan was triggered.) But we hold The Lighthouse in such high regard that the shortcomings of Eggers' latest films seem to be bothering us even more than they probably should.

I didn't like The Northman either, but at least I wasn't sure where exactly the story was heading (even though it was inspired by Hamlet, I guess, but that never occurred to me). I watched the original Nosferatu just four days before the new one, which helped ruin the experience for me because Eggers' film was pale in comparison and, in my opinion, added nothing new - nothing meaningful, that is. (I found the Ellen-Nosferatu soap opera tedious and couldn't wait for both of them to just die so I could go to a bar and start picking it all apart.)

As for the CGI, I'm in no way an expert in those matters, and I heard that Eggers really did mostly use real sets and prosthetics. But except for the Nosferatu make-up, which was well done, the rest of the film looked like the most generic CGI to me, so I found it ugly and uninspired. It was also way too grey and dark, but I'm starting to wonder if there's some issue with the screens in our cinemas because I remember experiencing the same thing with the first Villeneuve Dune, only to find it better looking when I rewatched it at home a few years later, ahead of the sequel.

In any case, I even enjoyed Shadow of the Vampire much, much more, and would recommend that film to any fans of the original instead of the Eggers remake. (Interestingly enough, both films feature Willem Dafoe, who's always such a joy to watch!)

I agree with you that The Lighthouse is by far Eggers's best, and that Nosferatu and certainly The Northman fall short in comparison. Nosferatu is definitely a very dark film by design, but I saw that as a feature, not a bug. I know some people get very upset these days that filmmakers are pushing extremes of lighting more and more, particularly with the use of extreme darkness with barely-visible details, but I'm all for it. Film is made for these contrasts, and now that home viewing setups are getting better and better, I say why not go all dark and murky, as long as it's done mindfully and artfully, as I believe Eggers and Blaschke did in Nosferatu. I even find it reminiscent of the murkiness of 1920s and 1930s films. For me, it only added to the immersion, and felt like I was being sucked into Orlok's world against my will along with Hoult.

 

[Dom]

I agree with you that The Lighthouse is by far Eggers's best, and that Nosferatu and certainly The Northman fall short in comparison. Nosferatu is definitely a very dark film by design, but I saw that as a feature, not a bug. I know some people get very upset these days that filmmakers are pushing extremes of lighting more and more, particularly with the use of extreme darkness with barely-visible details, but I'm all for it. Film is made for these contrasts, and now that home viewing setups are getting better and better, I say why not go all dark and murky, as long as it's done mindfully and artfully, as I believe Eggers and Blaschke did in Nosferatu. I even find it reminiscent of the murkiness of 1920s and 1930s films. For me, it only added to the immersion, and felt like I was being sucked into Orlok's world against my will along with Hoult.

Absolutely. The original Nosferatu is the very definition murkiness and shadows, especially when watched with the correct colour washes. Nosferatu, when I first watched it on an old Aikman Archive VHS had no tints and just an organ rambling away in the background as a soundtrack. The part of the coach ride with inverted black and white was absent. It didn't make a lot of sense.

I'll never forget being around a friend's house one afternoon at New Year and noticing Channel Four was going to show Nosferatu. And my shock when this version, made in collaboration with the BFI, had a stunning James Bernard score, English intertitles using the correct character names (Hutter, Knock, Orlock) and the colour washes. Nosferatu is utterly dependent on shadows and washes of colour. Since then there's obviously been the 'definitive' FW Murnau Foundation restoration. The FWMF version also sorts out the contrast, which was way blown out in the past, revealing far too much detail. I've created my own version for personal use, which has the FWMF pictures, BFI intertitles and Christopher Young score.

The thing I disliked about Werner Herzog's film is that it lacked the strong use of colour. It always looked rather cheap to me. I've grown to like it better as I've got older, but it's still not essential viewing for me. Herzog says his German version is 'more authentic' but I'm perfectly happy with the English incarnation. Both are dubbed anyway and using the Dracula names means that in the German version Jonathan Harker is called 'YONN-a-tonn' which is plain silly!

Eggers has made a film that blends the original film, Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (a perfect companion piece to this film) and perhaps a touch of Robert Rodriguez's Sin City. I love the return to colour washes, where the film is often gunmetal grey, then washed in orange-sepia firelight. For me, The Witch was a perfect creepy horror film. I love unease in films more than shocks. The new Nosferatu manages to be slow and 'arthouse' creepy, but also pack in plenty of crowd-pleasing jumps. I do think it will probably appeal more to people who have seen one of the previous two (or three!) Nosferatu films and know the story already, however.

Nevertheless, I really liked it.

 

[tudwell]

Dom, I think you capture the spirit of the Eggers version well, and I too enjoyed it. I wasn't sure at first how to approach it, just what kind of film it wanted to be. Back in October I rewatched The Witch (which I'd seen once before and liked but didn't love) and then saw for the first time The Lighthouse, and they both blew me away. I haven't caught The Northman yet – but having only seen his first two very small-scale films, it was clear early on that Nosferatu was a different beast.

And part of me is disappointed. I think Eggers is at his best when he's kind of in the head of a particular character and we move with them, we feel their disorientation and confusion. The passage in Nosferatu that most mimicked that was Hutter's trek to and through Orlok's castle. The second half of the film becomes more of a conventional monster flick, all this endless plotting and exposition. And it's especially curious when you look at the original film, which has all the simplicity of a folk tale. I can imagine a more stripped-down version done by Eggers, where instead of adding characters and subplots he sticks to the bare bones of the original and creates a delicious little fever dream of a film. Maybe that's not as easy as it sounds – the Nosferatu story by nature requires us to jump around to at least a couple different characters, rather than see everything essentially through the eyes of one, but it still feels like he could have made a film closer to the spirit of his first two.

And yet... it was a lot of fun. And utterly gorgeous. Not quite what I wanted it to be, but a delight to sit through nonetheless. Curious to see if the extended cut allows for a few more segments to open up and breathe like that journey to the castle.

 

[tudwell]

As for the CGI, I'm in no way an expert in those matters, and I heard that Eggers really did mostly use real sets and prosthetics. But except for the Nosferatu make-up, which was well done, the rest of the film looked like the most generic CGI to me, so I found it ugly and uninspired.

There was definitely a sense of unreality to a lot of the sets in the film, or at least the way they were captured. I don't know enough about the technical side of things to say what that is exactly, but I can understand a viewer thinking a lot of stuff was CGI that (sounds like) probably wasn't. I definitely wasn't sure at times. I saw in a couple interviews Eggers seemed to stress that one thing he loves about the original Nosferatu is it feels like a fairytale, so I'm assuming that elevated, painterly, bordering-on-not-looking-real design aesthetic was meant to create a similar sense in his version. (Whether he was successful is obviously up to our individual opinions lol.)

 

[Dom]

And yet... it was a lot of fun. And utterly gorgeous. Not quite what I wanted it to be, but a delight to sit through nonetheless. Curious to see if the extended cut allows for a few more segments to open up and breathe like that journey to the castle.

Yes, I feel like the parts around Orlok leaving the castle for Wisburg, Hutter's escape and recuperation at the convent were truncated, as well as some of Harding's characterisation. His attitude towards Hutter and Ellen shifts rather abruptly not just because of his family circumstances.

There are images that stay with me from both the Murnau and Herzog versions, such as Orlok/Dracula putting the coffins on the horsedrawn carriage, then the coffins' journey on a raft over the rapids. I was surprised not to see those here. The same goes for some of the Empusa material. I think that section might be where the most material is restored. The film is due out on download services next week, so if the extended version is available, I guess we'll find out.

Incidentally, one thing that's pissed me off is that the album of the score was released in November. By the time the film came out in the UK, it was sold out!! There are a couple of copies being offered on import from the USA!!

 

[Cappy]

I found the recent Nosferatu to be visually a totally engrossing experience.

It felt too long upon first viewing, with some sequences dragging on way longer than they really needed and repetitive story beats — usually the stuff with Lily Rose Depp’s character having seizures and/or hysterical fits — but on second watch I was able to appreciate the overall aesthetic world the filmmakers had crafted. Also the emotional journey of Depp’s character became somewhat clearer: she is a damsel in distress, but there is no space or comfort for her as a victim of orlock’s abuse, so she is forced to “save” herself in the end.

I personally preferred this film to Lighthouse.