New edition of 102-year-old horror masterpiece is said to have achieved the impossible

You have to have at least the madness of Werner Herzog to dare to remake a milestone in film history like Nosferatu, a symphony of horror. In 1979, Herzog reissued the groundbreaking 1922 horror masterpiece. 45 years later awaits us now the next attempt.

Robert Eggers, who taught us fear in the cinema with The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman, has never made a secret of his admiration for Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s unauthorized Dracula adaptation. With Nosferatu – The Undead he now delivers his own version of the irrefutable silent film classic.

How good is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu remake? The first voices for the hotly anticipated horror new edition are here

Eggers spared no expense or effort to live up to the great role model. He is said to have gathered 2,000 (!) rats in front of the camera to capture the horror of the original. Was the effort worth it? Based on the first voices, we can expect a pretty good, if not perfect, remake.

You can watch the trailer for Nosferatu – The Undead here:

Wait, a perfect remake? Yes, actually! This is the conclusion reached by Jazz Tangcay from the industry magazine Variety. She writes on Twitter:

Devilishly bloody and grotesque. Excellently made film and great sound design paired with a haunting score. Lily-Rose Depp’s performance is thoroughly captivating. Robert Eggers delivers a perfect remake.

Film critic Courtney Howard joins in the praise:

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is HARDER than any other horror film this year. Holy shit. A beautiful grotesque full of horror and a heavenly, dark pleasure. Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok is the stuff of dark nightmares. Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult’s best work yet.

Howard further explains:

Nosferatu combines breathtaking homages to Murnau’s masterpiece with thoughtful thematic artistry. Robin Carolan’s haunting compositions, Jarin Blaschke’s painterly cinematography and Craig Lathrop’s inspired production design enhance the eerie, atmospheric appeal.

Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist reflects on the film’s Oscar chances:

Nosferatu showcases Robert Eggers’ visionary creativity. Lily-Rose Depp is great. Willem Dafoe is having a blast. A great supporting actor. Could [Nosferatu für den Oscar als Bester Film nominiert werden]? Hmmmmm. [Lily-]Rose Depp has a chance in the supporting actress race.

He is particularly curious about the end of the film:

There is a shot at the end of Nosferatu that is incredibly inspired. First-class cinematography. The score, production design, costumes, makeup and cinematography are, as always with Egger’s films, masterful.

Germain Lussier, who works for Gizmodo and io9, prefers at least one other film from Eggers’ oeuvre, but that doesn’t detract from Nosferatu:

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is stunning. Bloody, scary, driving, with a touch of devilish humor. Lily-Rose Depp is fantastic as the woman at the center of it all and Bill Skarsgård’s vampire is completely unique and grounded. Not my favorite Eggers, but still excellent.

Film critic Tomris Laffly, who writes for Vanity Fair and Vulture, among others, also has a whole series of words of praise that arouse curiosity:

NOSFERATU = my favorite Robert Eggers film. An atmospheric, gothic, EROTIC horror film with sharp teeth – grabs you by the throat, takes its time. Between this [Film] and Juror No. 2, Nicholas Hoult is absolutely awesome. Bill Skarsgård… you have to see for yourself. But the main attraction for me is Lily-Rose Depp.

The timing of the press screening couldn’t have been better for The Film Stage founder Jordan Raup. He saw a movie about pure evil:

Nosferatu: It’s strangely comforting to see a film this week that seems conjured from the darkest depths of pure evil. Eggers’ most confident work, in which you can feel his obsessions in every nocturnal image. Lily-Rose and Bill Skarsgårds are out of this world.

And finally we have David Ehrlich, IndieWire’s chief critic, who compliments the following observation:

It’s relatively certain that there’s more sweating rolling around in bed in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu than in any other film ever made.

Unfortunately, the initial reactions leave it unclear how valuable the 2,000 rats on the set were for the Nosferatu remake. Nevertheless, Eggers seems to have achieved the impossible: he has created a film that… doesn’t have to hide behind Murnau’s original. Apparently something very special is coming our way.

When does Nosferatu – The Undead start in the cinema?

The theatrical release of Nosferatu – The Undead is not too far away. In the USA, the Symphony of Horror starts just in time for Christmas. In Germany, contemplative going to the cinema is prohibited from January 2, 2025 nothing more in the way.