“Nosferatu” score on Rotten Tomatoes means this vampire reboot might not suck

Although no one asked for it, a remake of a remake is coming Christmas 2024. The film is Nosferatu, It was directed by Robert Eggers, the same guy who made terrifying art house films The witch (2015) and The lighthouse (2019). This new version of the vampire classic was originally intended to be the sequel to Eggers The witchbut it’s only now that I finally see the light of day after spending a while in the limbo of a vampire coffin. And based on the initial reviews just released, it sounds like this vampire reboot isn’t bad.

Currently on Rotten Tomatoes, Nosferatu has a score of 94 percent, based on 101 early reviews. That’s a pretty wide range of reviews and a good indication that the film might actually be quite good. Kyle Anderson from Nerdist noted that the film is “not just a remake or reinterpretation, but a completely unique interpretation of a book and a film, deeply embedded in the fabric of popular culture.”

Of course it is the book Draculaeven though the original 1922 film was called Nosferatu because it was an authorized adaptation of the original 1897 novel by Bram Stoker. (In 1922, this novel would have been about as new as Harry Potter is to us today!) After the 1922 version, Werner Herzog remade the film in 1979 with Klaus Kinski in the lead role. Although one can argue that all versions of Dracula are also versions of Nosferatu (and vice versa), the new Eggers version represents a bold attempt to do what Herzog did 45 years ago.

The new film stars Bill Skarsgård as Orlok, the vampire role created by Max Schreck in 1922. Willem Dafoe also stars in the film as Von Franz, while Lily-Rose Depp plays Ellen Hutter. If you’re looking for something to completely terrify you this Christmas, this is it Nosferatu seems perfect. And perhaps one of the most understated best films of the year.