Promise no spoilers in this short review.

I would say this is a near perfect film from start to finish. Definitely recommend checking it out before it leaves theaters, it’s one you want to experience on the big screen.

Will start with the good first.

Every shot looks like a horror goth painting, you can tell an incredible amount of time went into every detail, the way the camera moves is so hypnotizing, seductive and precise. Eggers really does shine doing this type of gothic style film, you see a ton of similar set pieces, costumes and foray shots from his past films. His use of scenes dealing with language and writing again in this film is equally as brilliant and feels so easy to understand from one scene to the next. He really is a master of function over form but this might have more to do with the time periods he chooses to flesh out these creative ideas. Which just further proves his meticulousness to detail.

The acting all around is superb! The young lady who plays Ellen makes you feel like you are watching a real person dealing with the supernatural. It’s quite remarkable how she is able to go from mass hysteria to calmness in seconds, towards the end she becomes something else entirely that had me convinced it wasn’t the same actor.

The man that played Nosferatu was also incredible. You could feel his presence even when he wasn’t on screen it was quite fascinating to experience that again, I say again because it reminded me of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies I grew up with. That subtle movement in the background is that him sneaking up, only great horror movies do that. Nosferatu really does make you question what you see on screen.

Let’s get into the bad but not really.

The main problem is it’s a remake of Nosferatu (1922) so it has a lot to live up to and it doesn’t for a myriad of reasons. If you are not a film purist then this will not bother you at all. It’s unfortunate because I think the film is different enough that he could have just called it “The Count” and it would have been just as exciting to watch. I am sure there are reasons for it so it’s not a big deal but I think it’s worth noting.

The next problem is the focusing of the camera and the lighting is not nearly as on point as it should be. I read somewhere that when Kubrick was shooting Barry Lyndon he wanted to shoot everything with just candles and only naturally light. Kubrick actually makes it work remarkably so in that film. There are some scenes where the camera goes out of focus and I would have to imagine that is because Eggers is also choosing to shoot with candles and natural light. I don’t remember seeing that in Barry Lyndon or maybe it wasn’t noticeable. And to be honest it’s not entirely noticeable but once you see it, it’s hard not to miss the second or third time it happens in the film. I also thought maybe this had more to do with him shooting on film instead of digital. I saw the movie on digital but I will go back and watch it on 35mm in the coming weeks before it leaves theaters. I’m curious to see if maybe the film to digital transfer was the problem I was seeing something washed out.

I fully expect to see the award season be very kind to Nosferatu it’s one of the best films of the year. It’s unlike anything you would ever see from this type of genre film and an instant classic.