NOSFERATU (2024)

December 24, 2024

Greetings again from the darkness. My first exposure to Count Orlok was in a film class at the University of Texas. We were shown a portion of director FW Murneau’s 1922 silent film, NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR. I was mesmerized with the look of the film and especially with Max Schreck as Orlok. While growing up, I fawned over other vampire movies – Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, Christopher Lee, and even Frank Langella – but I never again saw anything like Schreck’s Orlock. And yes, over the years, vampires have become frequent subjects of movies and even TV shows, and “Nosferatu”, based on the original Bram Stoker story from 1897 spawned NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE (1979, directed by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski) and NOSFERATU (2023, directed by David Lee Fisher, starring Doug Jones). My anticipation soared when it was announced that the extraordinarily creative filmmaker Robert Eggers (THE WITCH, 2015; THE LIGHTHOUSE, 2109; THE NORTHMAN, 2022) would be basing his version on Henrik Galeen’s script from the 1922 original.

At its core, the story is a gothic tale of a woman haunted by the terrifying vampire obsessed with her. The “her” is Ellen Hutter played by Lily-Rose Depp (WOLF, 2021, and yes she’s Johnny Depp’s daughter). Ellen’s husband is Thomas Hutter played by Nicholas Hoult (familiar with the look of this genre via WARM BODIES, 2013, and RENFIELD, 2023). When Thomas’ job takes him out of town, friends Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna Harding (Emma Corrin, DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, 2024) invite Ellen to stay with them. It turns out the work Thomas is assigned is a real estate transaction with a mysterious recluse named Count Orlok. You may have experienced a bad real estate deal in your life, but it’s nothing like this one.

When it becomes apparent that Ellen’s trauma is not merely nerves, but rather an evil spiritual presence, the expertise of Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz is sought in an attempt to gain some control. The professor is played by Willem Dafoe, who once portrayed the aforementioned Max Schreck in SHADOW OF A VAMPIRE (2000). Playing Count Orlok this time is Bill Skarsgard, who you likely recall was superb as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in IT (2017) and IT CHAPTER TWO (2019). Skarsgard’s actual features are undetectable here, and especially jarring is his voice that truly sounds from another world (supposedly months of training). His Orlok is a true and memorable presence.

Eggers’ film looks stunning and gorgeous and creepy. The opening sequence is fascinating and everything one could ask for in how a vampire horror movie appears on screen. He surrounded himself with previous collaborators: Director of Photography Jarin Blaschke, Production Designer Craig Lathrop, Costume Designer Linda Muir, Film Editor Louis Ford, and Composer Robin Carolan. It’s an excellent team and one that excels at every step. My only issue with the film comes down to the cast. Lily-Rose Depp has the perfect look for the character, yet her torment never quite works. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and (the usually stellar) Willem Dafoe both seem to be showboating as if attempting to stand out in a movie dominated by a fearsome creature. It pains me to say that the cast (other than Skarsgard) simply take away some of the impact that the film should have had. Despite this, the film is lyrical, mystifying, and absolutely glorious in its look.

Opens in theaters on December 25, 2024

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE NORTHMAN (2022)

April 21, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. After two incredible arthouse films that earned the label “visionary filmmaker” for Robert Eggers, some would not have been surprised to find him cashing in on a huge payday for the next colossal superhero movie. But for those of us who adore and respect him for THE WITCH (2015) and THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019), we knew Mr. Eggers was not the comic book type. Instead, he secured a hefty budget (still less than $100 million) and with his co-writer, Icelandic author Sjon (writer of last year’s mesmerizing LAMB), created the most epic Viking movie to date … while firmly maintaining his artsy stylings.

Every now and then a movie comes along and I must accept that my words will fall short; that I won’t be able to do justice to what I’ve experienced on screen. This is certainly one of those times. Based on the same Scandinavian folk tale that inspired Shakespeare to pen “Hamlet”, this Eggers film is not just meticulously researched, it also pulls us right in so that we slosh through the mud and muck. We shiver from the cold. We feel the wind and the brutality of the violence. We live the harsh elements of Viking life.

The film opens in the year 895 AD as young Prince Amleth welcomes home his battle-weary father, King Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke). Not long after jester Heimer the Fool (Willem Dafoe) jokes about the Queen and the King’s brother, the boy witnesses his uncle Fjolnir (Claes Bang, the excellent “Dracula” TV mini-series, 2020) strike dead the king. Amleth escapes, pledging to avenge his father’s murder and the kidnapping of his mother, Queen Gudrun (Oscar winner Nicole Kidman). Flash forward twenty years and Amleth has become a behemoth of a man played by Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman in “True Blood”), who lives, fights, and kills alongside violent 10th century Vikings. Amleth is a hulking beast unmatched in battle, yet one who never unnecessarily harms women or children.

His revenge plan leads him to the farming village where his mother and Uncle Fjolnir now live as wife and husband, an arrangement Amleth is certain she adheres to for her own safety and that of her new son. Bjork, in her first big screen role since DANCER IN THE DARK (2000), appears as the seeress who knows Amleth’s destiny. It’s here where Amleth meets Olga “of the Birch Forest” (Anya Taylor-Joy) and reveals his plan to her. Olga describes her supernatural abilities as breaking men’s minds in contrast to his breaking their bones. The two are quite the match.

Eggers stages a stunning final showdown with a naked sword fight atop a burning volcano to ensure we aren’t subjected to an ending that falls short. The visceral savagery on the screen is somehow both brutal and beautiful. This is epic cinematic brilliance from Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, who treat us to numerous long takes in harsh weather and discomforting action. This is 136 minutes featuring some of cinemas best faces, while also proving that visionary is simply not a strong enough word to describe director Robert Eggers.

Opening in theaters on April 22, 2022

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019)

October 17, 2019

 Greetings again from the darkness. The opening sequence plays like something from 1920’s era cinema. The chug-chug-chug of a boat slamming against the waves of an angry sea while birds flap and chirp alongside. We hear the wind and “feel” the severe ocean spray. Several minutes elapse before any word is spoken. Immediately noticeable is the nearly square aspect ratio … the rarely (these days) seen 1.19:1 frame, making the black and white images appear both surreal and ominous.

All of the above makes perfect sense when we realize this is writer-director Robert Eggers’ first feature film since his 2015 indie horror gem THE WITCH won dozens of festival awards. Mr. Eggers obviously has his own vision for projects, and his approach borders on experimental, eschewing conventional. He co-wrote this script with his brother Max, and evidently much was drawn from the actual journals of lighthouse keepers … something that is evident in the vocabulary and the effects of solitude.

4-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe stars alongside Robert Pattinson as the two men charged with a 4 week assignment of tending to a lighthouse. The film is set in 1890, and Dafoe plays Thomas Wake, the epitome of a salty old sea dog, replete with bad leg, hardcore Atlantic accent, and upside down pipe. Pattinson is Ephraim Winslow, the assistant Wickie, who faces non-stop demands from Wake, and initially maintains a quietness as he goes about his duties … what Wake calls the ‘doldrums.’ We learn little about either man’s past. For Wake, other than knowing his previous assistant went mad, the clue is when he mentions “13 Christmases spent at sea” costing him a family. For Ephraim, when Wake asks, “Tell me what’s a timberman want with being a Wickie?” we get some insight into Ephraim’s desired future.

Eggers has delivered the anti-buddy movie. It’s a bleak, slow-motion race to insanity caused by being isolated with only one other person … a person you aren’t fond of. Only this is not a director or a film content with showing two men stuck on a storm-battered rock, as they slip towards insanity. No, we viewers are forced to experience some of these same feelings – how much of what we see is actually happening? It’s mesmerizing and hypnotic, and the above-mentioned narrow screen aspect purposefully emphasizes the sense of confinement and claustrophobia.

With no color and only a couple of characters … OK, 3 if you count the mermaid …OK, 4 if you count the seagull … the film still manages to pound us with sensory overload. We can barely process all we are seeing, despite relatively minimal ‘typical’ action. The black and white images are mostly just various shades of gray, and sunshine is non-existent.  Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (THE WITCH) embraces the dreariness by allowing the fog, lanterns, candles, wind, rain, and harsh elements to become characters unto themselves. However, nothing is in sync with our two leads. Composer Mark Korven fills the many lapses in dialogue with sounds and tones we haven’t heard before, yet they fit perfectly here. This is also quite likely the first film to utilize farts and foghorns in harmony.

Director Eggers filmed this on Cape Forchu in Nova Scotia, and the extreme weather and less-than-welcoming terrain create quite the visuals – as do the faces of our two lead actors. Dafoe may never have chewed scenery so delightfully as he does here, and Pattinson starts slowly before delivering his best work – including a ferocious rant that is fascinating to watch and contrast to his character’s first meal with Dafoe. Is this a horror film? A fantasy? Macabre comedy? There is simply no way to describe this other than bizarre. It’s truly miserable cinema, and I loved every minute of it.

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE WITCH (2016)

February 18, 2016

the witch Greetings again from the darkness. If your own nightmares have become less frequent, and you find yourself able to sleep peacefully through the night, writer/director Robert Eggers’ first feature film will likely fix that. Based in 1630 New England … a full 60 years prior to the Salem witch trials … much of the story and dialogue is based on actual historical documents corresponding to the fears of that era. It would be a mistake to head into this one thinking it’s going to having you covering your eyes or springing from your seat … it’s better described as unsettling and disquieting.

Religious fanaticism plays a key role here, and is actually behind a Puritan family being exiled from the community. They set up a home and farm on the edge of an ominous, heavily-wooded forest … and things start to go wrong. William (Ralph Ineson) and Katherine (Kate Dickie) are stern and stoic parental units to coming-of-age teenager Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), her younger brother Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), two spoiled and annoying twins Mercy (Ellie Granger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson), and a new born named Samuel.

This is a slow-burn psychological horror film and it never relies on cheap jump-scares. Instead the eerie atmosphere, lurking Satanic evil, and unraveling of the family as they search for answers, all combine for a level of creep that’s not often seen on screen. Adding to our pre-conceived notion that things rarely end well for closed-mind religious zealots is the unsettling use of Old World English … it takes some time to adjust your ears.

Most of director Eggers’ background is in short films with an emphasis on Production Design and Costume Design. It’s interesting to note the gradual decline of lighting as the movie progresses … most notably on the opening and closing shots of daughter Thomasin, who faces the most backlash as a suspected (by her family) witch.

This was a time when people prayed for food and for God to have mercy … and to explain the unexplainable. No amount of praying can make sense of the titular witch (Bathsheba Garnett), or the family’s goat Black Phillip (voiced by Wahab Chaudhry), or an evil bunny that would make Monty Python proud. The dingo taking their baby might actually be a preferred explanation.

Eggers won the Sundance Award for a Director in Drama, and the film was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize. Mark Korven’s score is unique and the perfect complement to the onscreen happenings of this poor family. The film stays true to the time period, which of itself, feels like a parallel universe unfamiliar to most of us these days. Young actors Anya Taylor-Joy and Harvey Scrimshaw are real finds, and director Eggers will have a built-in and well-deserved audience for his next outing.

watch the trailer:

 

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Posted by David Ferguson