Nosferatu’s first reviews in as critics are all saying the same thing about Lily-Rose Depp’s performance
Critics are sinking their teeth into Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and Lily-Rose Depp’s revelatory performance with relish.
Eggers, the director behind The Witch and The Lighthouse, is back with Nosferatu—a haunting remake of the 1922 silent classic, which was loosely based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
In this new version, Bill Skarsgård takes on the role of the bloodthirsty Count Orlok, with Depp playing Ellen Hutter, the object of his sinister obsession.
Early reviews are already raving, calling the film ‘hypnotic,’ ‘devilish,’ and ‘the scariest movie since The Shining,’ as the movie posted a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Every aspect of the project is getting rave reviews, but it’s the 25-year-old daughter of Johnny Depp who’s really stealing the spotlight with her performance.
‘The film belongs to Lily-Rose Depp, whose performance is a revelation,’ declared The Hollywood Reporter, as Collider called it ‘one of the year’s best performances.’
Critics are sinking their teeth into Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and Lily-Rose Depp ‘s revelatory performance with relish
Eggers, the director behind creepy period pieces like The Witch and The Lighthouse, is back with Nosferatu—a haunting remake of the 1922 silent classic, which was loosely based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula
‘Her scenes with Bill Skarsgard are electric,’ continued THR’s David Rooney. ‘Depp gives Ellen’s delirium a tragic gravity, deepening once she acknowledges the mystical forces within her that sparked the vampire’s obsession.
‘She can switch in an instant from weak and vulnerable to demonic, and the stylized physicality of her seizures is breathtaking.’
Rooney also gushed about Eggers, writing, ‘The director makes even that overused modern horror trope, the jump scare, truly shocking, not just something to be instantly laughed off.
‘It’s thrilling to experience a movie so assured in the way it builds and sustains fear, so hypnotically scary as it grabs you by the throat and never lets go.’
‘Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu might be a modern horror classic, given how scarily and sensually it approaches age-old material, but makes it feel entirely new,’ agreed IGN.
Fans agreed, with one posting, ‘Skarsgard is transformative, and Depp is a revelation.One of 2024s best!”
‘NOSFERATU is the most HORRIFYINGLY BEAUTIFUL film I’ve watched this year,’ gushed another.
‘It confidently adapts the 1922 classic, beat by beat, while increasing the scares to a new level. Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, and Ralph Ineson are great, but Lily Rose-Depp is ABSOLUTELY CAPTIVATING.’
Early reviews are already raving, calling the film ‘hypnotic,’ ‘devilish,’ and ‘the scariest movie since The Shining,’ as the movie posted a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes
Every aspect of the film is getting rave reviews, but it’s the 25-year-old daughter of Johnny Depp who’s really stealing the spotlight with her performance
‘The film belongs to Lily-Rose Depp, whose performance is a revelation,’ declared The Hollywood Reporter , as Collider called it ‘one of the year’s best performances’
Yet another viewer chimed in: ‘Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok is pure sinister nightmare fuel. Lily Rose Depp & Nicholas Hoult’s best work to date.’.
In addition to Depp and Skarsgård, Nosferatu features a talented ensemble cast that includes Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter, Ellen’s husband, and Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a vampire hunter.
The film also stars Emma Corrin as Anna Harding, the wife of Thomas’s friend Friedrich, portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Rounding out the cast are Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, Simon McBurney as Herr Knock, and Paul Maynard and Stacy Thunes in supporting roles.
Set in Germany in 1882, Nosferatu follows Thomas Hutter and his wife Ellen as they travel to Transylvania in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, where they encounter the mysterious Count Orlok.
A synopsis for Nosferatu reveals it is a ‘Gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake’
Willem Dafoe also takes a starring role in the new film as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a controversial scientist and expert in the occult and mysticism
Horror fans were less than impressed after Anya Taylor-Joy was replacedy by Depp in the remake of the classic 1922 horror film.
Anya was originally involved in the project along with singer Harry Styles, but both made the decision to exit the film.
A synopsis for Nosferatu reveals it is a ‘Gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.’
‘Yeah, it’s a scary film. It’s a horror movie. It’s a Gothic horror movie,’ the film’s director Robert Eggers told Empire. ‘And I do think that there hasn’t been an old-school Gothic movie that’s actually scary in a while.’
He continued: ‘And I think that the majority of audiences will find this one to be the case.’
‘Yeah, it’s a scary film. It’s a horror movie. It’s a Gothic horror movie,’ the film’s director Robert Eggers told Empire. ‘And I do think that there hasn’t been an old-school Gothic movie that’s actually scary in a while’
Nosferatu will go on general release across the United States from December 25
The filmmaker, 40, raved that ‘Lily-Rose is absolutely phenomenal’ and this remake of the tale is ‘even more Ellen’s story than previous versions.’
Eggers noted that Bill Skarsgard, who is responsible for Lily-Rose’s terrified expression, was completely ‘transformed’ in his role.
‘I’m fearful that he might not get the credit that he deserves because he’s just… he’s not there,’ Eggers teased. ‘He felt like honouring who had come before him. It’s all very subtle.’
He continued: ‘But I think the main thing is that he’s even more a folk vampire. In my opinion he looks like a dead Transylvanian nobleman, and in a way that we’ve never actually seen what an actual dead Transylvanian nobleman would look like and be dressed like.’
Nosferatu goes on general release from December 25, 2024.
