Nosferatu's challenging legacy is Egger's delicate chance at Redemption

In 1922, Bram Stoker’s estate sued the German production company Prana Films over copyright infringement on their first (and last) film, Nosferatu, directed by F.W. Murnau, in relation to Stoker’s novel Dracula. Subsequently, judges ordered all copies destroyed, and it looked as though Nosferatu would be just another lost film of the German Expressionist era. Luckily, some copies survived, and now, over a century later, audiences eagerly anticipate a remake of Nosferatu, directed by Robert Eggers. As should be evident, Eggers’ job is not an easy one, and the film will be placed under high scrutiny due to its rich history.

Murnau’s silent film starred the lanky, enigmatic Max Schreck as Count Orlok (Dracula) and changed all the other characters' names in attempts to subvert the copyright. Jonathon Harker became Thomas Hutter, and his wife, Mina, became Ellen. Narratively, the story largely stayed the same but made several key departures. For example, Nosferatu was the first time a vampire was killed by sunlight. Although Stoker’s vampire is weakened by sunlight, for Murnau’s creature, it is fatal. Another key difference from Stoker’s novel is the self-sacrifice of Ellen to kill Orlok. The film is looked back upon as a key Expressionist film, to such an extent that the New German Cinema director Werner Herzog directed his remake over half a century later, in 1979.

"Where Murnau’s film can come across to some audiences as stilted, Herzog’s remake is poetic in the truest sense of the word"

Where Murnau’s film can come across to some audiences as stilted, Herzog’s remake is poetic in the truest sense of the word. Despite not being able to shoot at the original locations of Wismar, Germany, his use of location shooting in the Netherlands is remarkable. The environment fully reads as a contemporary fairy tale as Jonathon journeys towards Dracula’s castle. Just to note, Herzog’s film restores the original names of characters, but confusingly, Mina/Ellen becomes Lucy. Again, narratively, Herzog’s film follows the same beats as Murnau's, but the inclusion of sound meant Herzog could add layers to his characters, particularly to the one-dimensional Orlok of the original. Klaus Kinski, a long-time collaborator of Herzog’s, plays Dracula, who is given a level of humanity. In Herzog’s Dracula, vampirism comes across as a curse. Tired of immortality, the monster envies those who can die. He also expresses envy at those who are loved, coming across as a pathetic, sympathetic creature more than a typical horror monster. Herzog is also able to play up the sacrifice of Lucy. In this film, Lucy uses this idea of love to tempt Dracula to his death, as the latter begs, ‘Give me some of that love that you give Jonathon.’

I would like to quickly mention the oddity that is Shadow of the Vampire, from 2000. The film is a fictionalised story of the making of the original Nosferatu, which hypothesises that Schreck himself was a vampire. Starring Willem Dafoe as Schreck/Orlok and John Malkovich as F.W. Murnau, the film feels somewhat surreal. It does not reach the heights that Herzog’s film does, but I would argue this is not the film's intention. As I said, I believe this film exists as a self-aware oddity, a spectacle presenting itself as an in-joke for those familiar with the original film. Nevertheless, with Dafoe returning as a ‘crazed vampire hunter’ in Eggers’ remake, Shadow only stands to further the legacy of the original film.

"I feel Eggers excels in mood setting rather than action. It is the subtlety and intricacy of the writing of his first two films that make them so compelling—aspects that were lost in The Northman."

And thus, we come to Robert Eggers. Launching himself onto the modern horror scene with the quietly unnerving English folklore horror The VVitch (2015), starring Anya-Taylor Joy, and following up with the equally disturbing The Lighthouse (2019), starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, Eggers quickly established himself as a key contemporary horror director. I am not ashamed to say that The VVitch is one of the few horror films I find genuinely unsettling, particularly the ending, which evokes paintings by Francisco de Goya. I was equally enthralled by The Lighthouse, which reads like an acid dream, from visions of mermaids to Pattinson’s character’s obsession with the lighthouse lamp. Where I think Eggers fell short, however, was with his 2022 film The Northman, a retelling of Hamlet in the Viking era. Although an interesting premise, I found this film to have less substance than his first two films and thought the ending in particular to be one of the worst endings to a film I’ve ever seen. The ‘final boss’ fight in a volcano screamed 'lazy MCU ending' to me, and I left the cinema wholly disappointed. I believe this is due in part to the budget ballooning for The Northman, where the whopping $70-90 million budget far outweighs those of The VVitch and The Lighthouse, made on $4 million and $11 million, respectively. It also seemed to me as though Eggers was trying his hand at more mainstream filmmaking with the action sequences throughout the film. To me, I feel Eggers excels in mood setting rather than action. It is the subtlety and intricacy of the writing of his first two films that make them so compelling—aspects that were lost in The Northman.

Eggers has a lot of film history to live up to, stemming from the seminal Expressionist film released over a century ago, as well as Herzog’s nuanced reinterpretation to live up to. He also has somewhat of a redemption arc to fulfil in my eyes, which I believe he can achieve. As long as he does not pander to mass audiences, as he did in The Northman, and is able to replicate the sense of dread and mystery that made his first two films so great, I believe Eggers can stick the landing, so to speak. So far, he is on the right track, having cast Bill Skarsgård, known for Pennywise in It (2017), as Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen. Willem Dafoe is again working with Eggers and returning to the story of Nosferatu, albeit in a different capacity. Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson also play minor roles, filling out a star-studded cast.

With a year to go until the slated UK release of January 3 2025, at the time of writing, all we have is the cast list and a few stills. Eggers has been floating the idea of this film since 2015, giving him plenty of time to perfect his remake. If all goes well, Eggers’ Nosferatu could be one of the best films of the coming year. We can only hope he relies on the source material, does not cheapen the story, and brings his own unique vision to the project. Until then, fingers crossed.