Nosferatu is the upcoming horror film from visionary director Robert Eggers starring Bill Skarsgard, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe. The film, which takes place in the early 19th century, follows the story of Vampire Count Orlok falling in love with a human. Nosferatu is a remake of a silent film from Germany released in 1922. Despite not being the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a family film, Nosferatu is set to release on Christmas day, taking advantage of not only the busy holiday season, but also the unusual juxtaposition in an attempt to stir up more interest.
In such an oversaturated industry, it’s easy to brush off the squeals and remakes of today as being banal and uninspired, however Robert Eggers’ past horror films such as The Witch and The Lighthouse, showcase both his meticulous attention to detail and dedication to historical accuracy. With Eggers at the helm, Nosferatu is ensured to be a must watch film that doesn’t depreciate the artistic and historic significance of the original. Critics so far have shared this sentiment, with the film debuting at a near perfect score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, a website used to score various forms of media.
The original film was directed by F.W. Murnau and produced by Albin Grau, chairman of Fraternitas Saturni, a German occult “magic group”. Nosferatu has had a very complicated history in the film world, as it was subsequently banned in Sweden upon release for its “excessive horror”. Additionally, Nosferatu was deemed as “degenerate art” by the Nazi regime, further limiting its availability to the public.
The final nail in the coffin however was when a lawsuit was filed by Bram Stoker’s wife Florence Balcombe for copyright infringement against her late husband’s extremely influential and iconic novel Dracula. Despite the changed names and locations, the court found the similarities between the two stories too jarring to ignore. In the end, the court judged in favor of Balcombe, ordering all remaining copies to be destroyed. Luckily, enough copies remained in circulation that we are still able to see it today.
With this new take on the iconic and troubled character, hopefully a new younger generation will consider going back and watching the original, an integral part of film history.
