REVIEW: NOSFERATU

4/5

Vampire Weekend 

132 Mins. Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Simon McBurney, Ralph Ineson & Willem Dafoe. Screenplay: Robert Eggers. Director: Robert Eggers. In: Theatres.

Count on this one to fray your nerves and cool your blood, as the 'Nosferatu' remake, over a century in the making, finally gets its fangs into Japanese cinemas. Written and directed with dark decadence by Robert Eggers ('The Witch', 'The Lighthouse', 'The Northman'), and based on Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' novel, this is a symphony of horror that will haunt you all the way down to the base of your spine. Between 'Buffy' and 'Twilight', the most legendary vampire that won't sparkle in the sun, already inspired the 1992 movie 'Bram Stoker's Dracula', starring Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits and the titular Gary Oldman. This epic from Eggers brings Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Simon McBurney, Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe to the boil of all this toil and trouble.

Sure, 'Sinners' will entertain you more, right now, when it comes to vamping it up at the box office with Michael B. Jordan doing double-duty alongside frequent-flying director Ryan Coogler (do your research, Chuck). And 'The Substance' of the Demi Moore almost Oscar winner, also finally released in Japan last weekend, is straight scarier and carries far more...well...substance. But 'Nosferatu' is still a nuanced cinematic classic worthy of its time in the sun (erm). This great gothic horror film is devoid of colour, as it mesmerizes you in monochrome. Especially when the cold nights blow through the windows like ghostly white sheet curtains billowing in the wind. It certainly looks the part, all the way down to the classic logo of the production companies. No wonder, 'Nosferatu' coveted Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. 

Yet Eggers highest-grossing movie to date, that came after his darkly acclaimed 'The' trilogy, features fine performances across the board. The brilliant Bill Skarsgård (after Robert worked with his brother Alexander) seems born to capture these characters, as he takes the spindly fingered, long nails 'Nosferatu' lead. 'IT' doesn't matter that his chapter of the count could give Jim Carrey's Doctor Robotnik in the 'Sonic' movies a run for his gold coins. Meanwhile, leading men of our generation Nicholas Hoult (the 'X-Men' beast whose about to become 'Superman's' Lex Luthor) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson ('Kraven The Hunter' about to star in '28 Years Later', who Omega may have just revealed as the next Bond) look more than debonair in their costume designed regalia as concerned husbands, standing firm behind their family. Also, a crowning Emma Corrin, who recently gave us one of the best episodes of 'Black Mirror' ever, in another period piece, never disappoints. Yet it's 'The Green Knight' star and the great Galactus of the forthcoming 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps', Ralph Ineson and founder and director of the Théâtre de Complicité, London, Simon McBurney ('The Manchurian Candidate', 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation'), who steal the show somewhat.

Even from Eggers' reunion for the ages with 'Past Lives' legend Willem Dafoe, who just gives so much more realism to raw pictures like this. However, even his legend can't take the limelight away from the real star of the show, who deserves top-billing, Lily-Rose Depp. The 'Idol' and star of 'The Dancer' and 'The King' (with Timothée Chalamet) gives her everything to this epic, body and soul, Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis nepotism be damned. It feels like the actress of 'Tusk' and 'A Faithful Man' is one hit away from being one of the biggest stars in the world, like her 'King' co-star (she would have been perfect for the 'Dune' trilogy), but this indie darling is one that dares more. Perfectly possessed with so much talent, when she acts as such in this epic, that will make your flesh-crawl and your mind descend into more madness than 'The Exorcist', you'll be convinced that this is no act. Nothing is more terrifying, in a film that evokes the employment of spare jump scares, than the blood that runs from her face, until you see the whites of her eyes above gritted teeth. And we can't tell if her convulsing and stutter-shaking body movement of pure possession is completely real, or not, but it's something else! Physical acting this year, demanding its own award category, doesn't come any better. A supernatural seduction that creeps in. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror' (1922)', 'Bram Stoker's Dracula', 'Sinners'.