The New Nosferatu
An Excellent Piece of work
Finally, I saw the extended version of Nosferatu by Robert Eggers. The film is marked by a strong element of the Gothic and the Romantic, which distinguishes the film as a remarkable achievement. I see that the “Rotten Tomatoes” site gives it an aggregate score of 85, which is quite high, and I think well-deserved. What I found most interesting about it is how it discusses the problem of horror and of “evil” in a more Romantic manner. The demon which Orlok has become is firmly identified with the force of pure hunger or appetite and not a simple sort of disobedience in the face of God’s Laws. There is nothing “heroic” about Orlok’s character— he is not Satanic as such but rather an embodiment of pure Death— the destruction of Life. The Romantics generally did not fear Satan or the Devil, but rather Death itself. Satan is a rebel against the Laws of God, but Death is an inevitable force that has no “heroic” dimensions. As such, it is the most horrific and frightening of things. The only down-side I can find about the film is that it did not very well express the specific German character of the original vision and style. In many ways it seemed more “English” than German. There is what I take to be a tribute to Albin Grau, the real visionary of the original, in the naming of the Defoe character as Albin von Franz. Rarely do I ever want to see a film more than once, but I think I will watch Nosferatu 2024 a few more times…
[Spoiler] I found there to be an interesting element of civilization (West?) vs. “barbarism” (East?). Approaching Orlok’s territory, the people themselves terrify Hutter, but he witnesses them actively hunting a vampire; he simply cannot comprehend what is happening. I was wondering if Orlok was interested in relocating in the interest of leaving a hostile environment. Wisburg is a naive and thus target rich place, for people in their education against ignorance cannot accept the threat that comes upon them. This is part of all versions of the movie or book, but I thought Eggers portrayed it well, and I think the vampire-hunting gypsies was a new twist. Eggers also emphasizes the pathogenic aspect explored by Herzog’s version.