Vampire movies feel like “a dime a dozen” these days but they had to start somewhere, right?  If we exclude a little-known Austrian film which has now been lost, the first cinematic adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was released in 1922.  Entitled Nosferatu, it was a silent, black and white flick directed by German F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck in the title role.  It’s worth a look-see and so too is the 2000 release, Shadow of Vampire, which provides a fictionalised account of the film’s creation.

American Robert Eggers was roughly 9 years old when he first saw a photo of Max Schreck as Nosferatu.  His mum helped track down the full movie from a nearby video store and he’s been enthralled by the story ever since.  It’s taken a few decades to get to this point, but the 41-year-old has now been given the chance to write and direct his own adaptation.

If you’ve seen Eggers’ previous works, you’ll know he’s a filmmaker who likes gritty, stylish, folk tale-like period pieces.  The Witch was a horror film set in 17^th Century New England, The Lighthouse was an 1890s thriller with just two characters, and The Northman was an action epic about Vikings from the Early Middle Ages.  Nosferatu continues the trend with Eggers taking us back to a dark, grim Germany in the year 1838.

Thomas (Hoult) is a budding, naive real estate agent who has been asked to make the lengthy trek to Transylvania to settle a property transfer.  It’s there he meets Count Orlok (Skarsgård), a mysterious man who lives alone.  It’s clear from the outset he’s no ordinary person – his voice, his conversation topics, his dress sense – and Thomas soon realises Orlok is more than just a weirdo.  As this transpires, Thomas’s wife (Depp) waits patiently at home for her husband’s return but based on own her dreams and visions, she is not immune to Orlok’s influence.

Vampire films/TV shows have become so “commercial” in today’s age that I admire Eggers’ ambition of crafting something with a harsh, old-school vibe.  It’s not trying to sell big laughs, easy scares, and/or gruesome deaths.  It’s more of a psychological drama about the way in which Orlok, who always has the upper hand, manipulates others in pursuit of his own desires.  This approach may alienate some audience members, but I like what this film wants to be.

The production values will get your attention.  From the dimly lit castle through to the slow reveal of Orlok’s face, Eggers does a great job building interest and intrigue.  The plot is a touch thin, however.  I’m not sure there’s enough narrative to drag this out to 132 minutes.  That quibble is not enough to distract from the fact this is an above-average entry within the vampire genre.  Worth a bite.