NOSFERATU (2024)
It's been a while since the days of the old Drac vs. Drac vampire movie blog, in fact more years than I'd like to admit, but here we are back with that old creep once again. Since there have been not one but two recent Bram Stoker adaptations the comparison was inevitable. Of course because true evil never dies (in studio board rooms and on the big screen) there are always plenty of films like this around, but stories taking direct inspiration are always an interesting prospect. There's always a chance for creativity, and there's always a chance someone will do an accurate version of the original book. Which unfortunately is only partly true in both cases here.
There are few surprises in Robert Egger's adaptation. Partly because this is another version of the tale as directed by Murnau and Herzog previously. Partly because after The Northman the film maker's tastes have been firmly established. He likes the period trappings of a horror adjacent thrill ride and the sort of sudden shocks and gruesome visions afforded by films about religious zeal and madness. So while it's disappointing that once again so much of Stoker is left untapped it's generally the kind of well made creature feature everyone imagined when the title was announced. Although that's not to suggest it doesn't have a few fresh ideas of its own.
It goes without saying that since it uses the silent version's names (Hutter instead of Harker et al) most of the plot sticks to the established details. An estate agent is sent abroad so that an undead aristocrat can migrate to a fresh hunting ground. Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgard) has his sights on the agent's wife and employs a lunatic thrall. The agent enlists a doctor and a professor along the way. It's not as hypnotic as the 1979 film and it's not as lavish (or as uneven) as the 1992 version. But it has none of the sentimental reincarnation ideas that often recur after the early '70s. Instead any ideas of romance here are more in line with abusive manipulation; the vampire is a monster.
Any sense of this being a twisted love story is more disturbing as a result as Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) finds herself feeling as if she's to blame (and is later blamed) for the murderous plague carrier's actions. Merging the prior Lucy-Mina dynamic she's often in the throes of a nightmare inducing hypnosis as powerless sceptics and theorists try to solve the mystery. It's an appropriately overwrought performance (although it would have been nice to see the planned Anya Taylor-Joy iteration) as things veer from demonic convulsions to psycho-sexual outbursts. Of course this means that the rest of the ensemble is less interesting in comparison.
Her husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) is the inadequate newly-wed out of his depth with debts and his marriage, while his friend Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) owns a soon to be cursed ship yard. There's some class conflict as a result, as well as a sense that these guys have an archetypal perspective on female hysteria and career success. It's not deep but it does feed into the central themes. Elsewhere Dr. Sievers (Ralph Ineson) runs a hospital in which Herr Knock (Simon McBurney) raves about eating animals. Sievers gets all the expected medical dialogue while Knock is perhaps the most grotesque version of Stoker's Renfield yet.
Ineson feels a little wasted in this regard (it would have been interesting to see his voice applied to the Count) but of course it's all leading into the introduction of Willem Dafoe as Professor von Franz. Again no prizes for who's shoes he is filling in the plot. With the story being so bleak his presence is a welcome jolt of dark humour as he strokes a pet cat and rambles about ancient magic. One line about Isaac Newton in particular seems to be purposely outlandish but there's always a serious touch to the performance; especially when his selfless side has an obvious limit.
Orlock meanwhile is a strong mixture of ruthless medieval lord and repulsive living corpse. His plans to learn about the modern world and travel beyond local superstitions are intact (if a little rushed) although his many boxes of earth are strangely absent. Above all else he seems to crave dominion over others even if he claims to feel betrayed by Ellen trying to escape his clutches. He's a really gross take on the character both visually and through his actions, with all sense of camp or even nobility stripped away to reveal an unvarnished abuser; rotten in more ways than one.
Overall it's a fairly cold and bloody take on the source material full of intricate costumes and locations. Horror fans will enjoy the many nods to other films (even the original Alien) even if it's not as outrageous as other adaptations. It could have gone further with the Count as a character rather than a ghoul but in terms of occult visual effects and bizarre rituals there's a lot to appreciate. Plus it's always nice to see the man himself depicted as a cruel figure instead of a tormented romantic. It's often beautiful, often nasty, and often perverse, and it's just fresh enough to warrant being yet another take on the same old story.
4/5
BONUS REVIEW
LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (2023)
Meanwhile (after a similarly long gestating pre-production) this alternative take on the material expands the brief chapter in Dracula where a the log from a ship carrying the vampire's coffin is recovered. Instead of a brisk account of the doomed voyage the event is padded out into a nautical creature feature. The intention seems to have been another reference to 1979's Alien with a small crew against a monster. But the results are contrived and predictable even for another movie using the same novel as a basis. Which is a shame because the concept has promise and the crew includes some reliable faces.
The Captain is played by another reliable gravelly voiced genre regular Liam Cunningham. His quartermaster is played by everyone's favourite twitchy character actor David Dastmalchian. But dumb movie logic dictates that they need a doctor on board (Corey Hawkins) to explain what's going on, and a vampire victim hidden in the cargo (Aisling Franciosi). Which isn't a slight against their performances, they're all part of a solid ensemble. It's that their inclusions are for convenience and exposition rather than storytelling. It would be far more interesting if the sailors were up against a truly unknown horror.
The film itself goes through the usual clichés including people turning into undead creatures (and burning in the sunlight which seems more Blade than Bram Stoker at this stage) as well as various other CGI assisted set pieces. But it never feels genuinely claustrophobic, and the Count never becomes more than a mindless monster. Again, it's good to get away from sentimental tropes but it's also too thin for an entire feature length story. They even have the cheek to include yet another 'the game is on' sequel hook at the end, which is never going to happen. Ultimately it is just Dracula on a boat... without being clever or interesting in the execution.
2/5
