Nosferatu

Has Robert Eggers been edging toward creating a mainstream hit for years, or have our tastes moved closer to his intense, operatic visual style? Either way, his new horror film NOSFERATU delivers beauty and horror in bloody buckets.

Bathed in washed out grays, blues and blacks, a mid 1800's Germany wraps around us in all its elegance and filth. The film is Eggers biggest hit, already grossing more than its $50 million budget in its first week in theaters.

The story, for any fans of previous Nosferatu or Dracula films during its hundred year plus legacy, is very familiar.

Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) is sent on a long journey to meet the mysterious Count Orlok, who wants to acquire a well trodden castle. Hutter leaves behind his new bride Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny) who is suffering vivid nightly dreams of a mysterious figure calling to her from far away.....

The dreams get worse and Ellen grows ill, falling into the care of her wealthy best friend Anna (Emma Corrin) and her husband Friedrich (the excellent Aaron Taylor-Johnson, can we just make him the new OO7 please!).

After his long carriage trip, Thomas arrives to the fantastically scary Count's current castle and finds a huddled, shaded figure with impossibly long hands, fingernails and a deep, echoing voice that sounds like death.

The count is played by Bill Skarsgard (Pennywise in "It") under so much make up and costuming that in renders him unrecognizable. It's a hell of a performance, I just can't believe that's Skarsgard buried somewhere in there. He worked with an Opera coach to lower his speaking voice an octive. The effect is mesmerizing and scary as hell. His Count only breathes in to speak. You can almost feel that breath coming at you as that low, grumbling voice emerges.

You know the rest. The Count wants Anna and will do anything to possess her, Thomas falls sicker and sicker under the Count's power. Ellen falls deeper into possession and Professor Von Franz, this tale's Dr. Van Helsing, arrives in a cloud of Willem Dafoe eccentricities to provide the remedies no one wants to face.

But Eggers isn't interested in a simple retelling of the oft told bloodsucker legend.

He creates huge scale horror and splashes blood and guts across the screen in shots so beautiful you can't look away.

The Count's shipboard voyage from his homeland is a nearly black and white classic of midnight blood sucking. By the way, this Count doesn't really drink from your neck. His preferred method is a horrifying, more direct route that slurps and gurgles around you in Dolby Atmos as hearts pump their last beats.

Eggers gives you the feel of a classic film from decades ago, newly discovered. The photography and outdoor sets are impressive.

When Orlok's ship crashes into the dock and thousands of rats come pouring off and spread through the streets, it's a powerful metaphor for plague and the Count to follow.

Ralph Ineson (The Creator) stands out in the cast as Doctor Sievers, a traditional physician facing the supernatural at every turn. Hoult and Depp are both excellent, bringing new life to familiar characters.

The music score by Robin Carolan, who also scored Eggers' "The Northman" echoes moments of Wokciech Kilar's legendary music for Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" but soars off on its own after offering a bloody, momentary nod.

There were multiple moments in the film in which I felt Eggers was indeed nodding in the direction of Coppola's film. The playful visuals as the Count's shadow seems to have a mind of its own resonated.

I loved Coppola's film, but it's a wholly different enterprise than Eggers film, which I really enjoyed as well.

Writer/ Director Eggers has created another powerful, adult film with violence, nudity and visual style to spare. Scenes haunt long after the lights come up. As always, I can't wait to see what Eggers does next.

His fascinating Christmas gift NOSFERATU gets an A.