NEW YORK (OSV News) – Film buffs will easily recognize that the atmospheric horror yarn “Nosferatu” (Focus) is both a variation on and an homage to the eponymous 1922 silent genre classic helmed by F. W. Murnau. Unlike that foundational film, however, the newcomer is both artistically flawed and, ultimately, morally unbridled.
Still, there’s a darkly poetic quality to the early chapters of the movie, which is set in 1838 Germany. There, newlywed bride Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) is hiding a secret past that links her to the vampire of the title (Bill Skarsgard). He continues to target her and has hatched a plan for reconnecting with her by buying a rundown manor in her hometown.
Ironically, the bloodsucker’s scheme is unwittingly facilitated by Ellen’s doting husband, Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), a novice real estate agent. At the behest of his employer, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), — who, unbeknownst to his underling, is in league with Nosferatu, aka Count Orlock — Thomas travels to the nobleman’s remote castle in the Carpathian mountains to seal the deal.
As Ellen’s peril increases, and her behavior becomes ever more erratic, the young couple’s best friends, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Emma Corrin) Harding, enlist the aid of a local physician, Dr. Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson). He, in turn, procures the help of his mentor, Professor Von Franz (Willem Dafoe), a dabbler in the occult. Yet the threat remains formidable.
As written and directed by Robert Eggers, the proceedings are initially restrained but grow increasingly graphic, both in terms of mayhem and of erotic content, as the story unfolds. Aesthetically, meanwhile, the tone of the dialogue wavers between old-fashioned lyricism and alienating artificiality.
“”Nosferatu” eventually goes off the ethical rails altogether as it moves toward a conclusion bogged down by the muddled metaphysics espoused by Von Franz.
The film contains skewed values, much gory violence, grisly images, strong sexual content, including graphic activity and full nudity, and several mild oaths. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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