Nosferatu: Delving into the World of Gothic Romance

“As our spirits are one, so too shall be our flesh. You are mine.” - Count Orlok, Nosferatu (2024)

Nosferatu, the long-awaited 2024 remake of the 1922 film of the same name, was the pinnacle of discussion entering 2025. The original movie was directed by F. W. Murnau, with the screenplay being written by Henrik Galeen. However, the film was an illegal adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and was banned due to copyright infringement due to Stoker’s widow, who had filed a copyright lawsuit. All copies of the film were meant to be burned, but the film was so widespread already that a lot of copies survived.

Thus, with the film having been a staple of horror, surely it wouldn’t have been long before it had been remade. Despite there being a 1979 remake of the original titled Nosferatu the Vampyre, many horror fans were ecstatic when they then found out that Robert Eggers would be directing and writing the screenplay. Eggers is well-known for his signature style of combined horror, folklore, and historical fiction to remake this gothic romance beast of a film. With the titular main antagonist Count Orlok, being played by none other than Bill Skarsgård, the film had high hopes upon its release. Quite frankly, I was far from disappointed but was utterly shocked by the time the film’s credits had started rolling. Having very little knowledge of the original film, and only knew the iconic vampire. Going in completely blind with a friend, nothing could have prepared me for the insanity that is this film.

Spoilers below, beware!

The film Nosferatu is about a young married woman named Ellen Hutter, who, in her childhood, was afflicted with epileptic attacks. Then, in a moment of child-like vulnerability, she had called out to an “angel” for comfort but had ended up being seduced and pledged herself eternally to him. This supernatural entity is Count Orlok, a vampire able to telepathically communicate with Ellen due to their connection. As Ellen got older, she fell in love with and married a man named Thomas Hutter, and due to him, her visions and episodes had stopped. However, as Thomas is getting ready to leave to close a property deal for Grünewald Manor in Wisburg to a client in the mountains of Romania, her visions start to come back revolving around marrying death, and Thomas has to leave Ellen in the care of their wealthy friend Friedrich Harding and his family. Thomas arrives in Romania and visits Orlok’s castle, disregarding warnings from natives. During the nights spent there, he keeps waking up with mysterious bite marks. Finally, during the deal, Orlok takes Thomas’ locket containing a lock of Ellen’s hair, and Thomas signs what he believes to be the property sale confirmation, but is unknowingly manipulated into signing a marriage annulment. When he eventually escapes Orlok and the castle, he is injured, and some nuns who found and were caring for him inform him that Orlok was a Romanian wizard-turned-vampire after a pact made with the Devil. As this is happening, Orlok is setting sail for Wisburg, accompanied by thousands of plague-carrying rats in his pursuit of Ellen. Back in Wisburg, Ellen is feeling weaker with frequent seizures and sleepwalking. Dr. Willhelm Sievers is unable to treat her and consults an ostracized Swiss scientist, Albin Eberhart von Franz, who finds that she is stuck under Nosferatu’s spell. They then find out that Thomas’ then-employer, Herr Knock, was Orlok’s servant after he was institutionalized for eating raw sheep, and when Thomas returns to Wisburg, he finds that the plague has spread rapidly, killing many. At this same time, Knock had escaped from the institution and escorted Orlok to Grünewald Manor, and later would confront Ellen. Telling her that he doesn’t love her but that their destinies are intertwined, and threatens to kill Thomas and will let the plague kill everyone in Wisburg if she does not willingly submit herself in three nights' time. After telling Thomas of her past with Orlok, they have sex, and it enrages Orlok that he retaliates by killing their friend, Friedrich Harding’s wife, Anna, and their two daughters. Friedrich, driven by grief, dies from the plague after he had sex with his wife’s corpse. Von Franz informs that the curse of Nosferatu can be destroyed if a fair maiden willingly sacrifices herself. Ellen knows she is the only one who can stop the plague, and has Von Franz take Thomas away from her so that she can sacrifice herself. Leading Von Franz to take both Thomas and Dr. Sievers back to the manor, where they accidentally kill Herr Knock. When Thomas learns of the deception, he rushes back to Ellen in an attempt to save her, but it’s too late. Ellen has already repledged herself to Orlok, and they have sex while Orlok feeds on her blood until the sun rises, killing him. By the time Thomas arrives, he stays with Ellen as she slowly dies. Von Franz then confirms that her sacrifice had freed them from the plague of Nosferatu.

Even though I have never seen the original film, I thought this was a great movie and portrayed the concept of vampirism so well. Having said that, I am a fan of Egger’s work and thought this was one of his best since The VVitch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019), so seeing him bring this iconic horror character back to life was amazing to experience. I usually miss the curve and am spoiled by movies, but I was able to go into this one fully blind, and boy, was I glad I got the chance to. My friend and I had sat there until the credits had finished rolling because we were absolutely flabbergasted at what we had witnessed, not expecting the movie to be so “provocative” and “gruesome” in the sense that we thought it was just going to be about a vampire killing people.

Movies like these are often under appreciated and, as many put it, they are for the “arts and not the charts,” because many cannot see how great of a film it is due to personal preferences and opinions, which are all valid. Although some scenes felt like it was dragging, I thought the cinematography and chemistry between the actors was brilliant. Eggers has such a way with world building, and I was immediately transported and could feel myself being unsettled as I watched the grotesque and macabre being utilized so beautifully and mesmerizing on the screen before me. Gothic romance is a genre within itself, and I hadn’t known that it was so deeply ingrained in the culture of obsession and doing whatever it takes for your beloved. It is the ultimate horror romance story, and it applies the concepts of possession, obsession, and corruption so well within the film and showing the connection between Ellen Hutter and Count Orlok. She is the prey, and he is the predator, slowly preying on her for years, and goes after her whenever she is most vulnerable. He was doing anything he could to get to her and make her fully his. This film was a masterclass in storytelling and cinematography, and somehow, Robert Eggers manages to pull off folklore horror every single time, and I’m excited to see how he will top Nosferatu.

Nosferatu delves into the grotesque and macabre, building upon dark romance and the concept of obsession and corruption. The film is perfect for fall and winter, and if that’s what you're looking for, then I recommend watching it by yourself or with a friend. Succumb to the darkness and sink your teeth into the film, allowing yourself to become immersed in the world that Robert Eggers has craftily curated.