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Nosferatu
The Cookie Monster of blood
Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu opens with the logo of Universal Pictures as it may have looked in the 1920s, as an homage to the first film version by F.W. Murnau of the enduring vampire legend modernized by Bram Stoker. The opening scene is the best thing in the movie. It establishes the relationship between desire and death, the summoning of something evil in the perverse nightmares that haunt beautiful, sensitive Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) in which she is ravished by a terrifying being who demands she surrender herself to him, which she experiences with a discomfiting mix of desire and terror. The first half hour is steeped in atmosphere and sexual subtext as Ellen’s husband, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) is sent to sign a contract for Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard), who wants to move to a house in town. The Hutters are newly married but Thomas has to travel through forests, mountains and gypsy villages to the castle, leaving her behind. So far, so good.
I am a big fan of the two prior Nosferatu movies. The German expressionist silent masterpiece from 1922, featuring the aptly named Max Schreck, is still stunning today, a completely innovative film.
