Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from writer/director Robert Eggers and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment comes another retelling of the story of NOSFERATU.

Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) is a young woman living with her husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) in Germany. As an estate agent, Thomas is hoping that his position as Schloss Grunewald will give him an opportunity to bring a wonderful life for his wife. Called in to see his employer Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), Thomas is told that he would be traveling to visit the recluse Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) who wishes to purchase property in Wisborg.

Thomas asks friends Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and wife Anna (Emma Corrin) to look after Ellen as he travels to Transylvania. Arriving after weeks, he is greeted with hostility by the Romani townsfolk and witnesses a ritual that is shocking. Having to make the rest of the journey to Orlok’s castle, he is greeted by Orlok and the appearance is disturbing to Thomas. Yet, he does what he must to finish the paperwork so he can return home to Ellen.

Lord Orlok has other plans and it includes also wanting to return to see the lovely young Ellen. Thomas realizes that he must escape before the nightmares and their effects consume him. Near death, his makes his way home without realizes that Ellen is also suffering melancholy to be confronted by scientist Albin Eberhart Von Franze (Willem Dafoe). Olek has no choice but to sail for Wisborg in a rat-infested ship, using the scurrying creatures to cause havoc in his new hometown met by Knock.

Wisborg is struck by the plague and Thomas attempts to regain his strength as Ellen realizes that her own dreams and nightmares are caused by one thing. Now, Thomas, Dr. Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson), Von Granze and Ellen must come together with a plan that can put a stop to the madness and destruction happening in their town. 

Hoult as Thomas is a man that clearly wants a standard of life for himself and wife Ellen. Accepting an assignment that could bring him financial reward, it could never have imagined what was truly to come. Hoult has truly spent the last few years covering almost every genre of film and standing out. In this film he is challenged with horror and a bit of bravery all in the name of love. Depp as Ellen is clearly a woman who suffers from a strange malady. Finding refuge in her marriage, it is only a temporary reprieve. Depp gives her character the look of a woman struggling to discover what is true in her life and what is madness.

Skarsgard as Orlok is a strange character but that is nothing new for this actor. The mystery is in how Orlok truly looks which is masked by shadows. Pennywise and Orlok do have a lot in common and that’s where Skarsgard wins. Dafoe as Von Franze comes across as slightly rattled in his own mind with zippy Shakespearean one liners causing a bit of chaos trying to convince everyone that there is a vampire present.

Taylor-Johnson as Fredrich is a wealthy man who befriends Thomas and Ellen. He loves his wife and children and as the world becomes unhinged, Taylor-Johnson character has a difficult time grasping the reality of the situation. Corrin as Anna loves her friendship with Ellen and is distraught at her condition. There is nothing Corrin’s character Anna won’t do for Ellen and it may cost her.

McBurney as Knock is the servant of Orlok but that doesn’t mean his opportunity to cause a little mayhem on his own isn’t possible. Creepy and dedicated, every opportunity McBurney is on screen is a chance to shock. Ineson as Sievers is a former student of Von Franze and doctor to Ellen. Seeking help to discover the cause of a young woman’s malady, he knows that his mentor may be a little off, but brilliant none-the-less.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Features include the Extended Cut and Theatrical Version, Deleted Scenes, NOSFERATU: A Modern Masterpiece and Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Robert Eggers.

NOSFERATU is a film that is grey, dark and filled with vampiric folklore. The characters felt more like this should be a dark and eerie stage production. The costuming is one of my favorite things about period pieces and the film definitely comes through on that score brilliantly. The women truly looked like the era and gave it such a richness to the story.

The cinematography was beautifully done with the eeriness of greys, blacks and a fogginess that lends feels like another character in the film. The music added a nice touch of intensity to the scenes. However, the 1992 film BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA continues to be my standard and this film hasn’t changed that opinion. It is interesting to note that every generation or so a Dracula film comes along and sticks with the audience of that era. My grandmother had her Bela Lugosi, my mother had Frank Langella, I have Gary Oldman and now Bill Skarsgard.

In the end – succumb to the darkness!

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