While audiences in Hungary have to wait until January 2 to see Robert Eggers’ new take on Nosferatu, the vampire horror film by the acclaimed director of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman, it will debut in the U.S. by the end of December. Early reviews suggest that this remake of the 102-year-old masterpiece might be a late entry, but it’s already being hailed as one of the year’s standout films and an instant classic of the genre.
The original 1922 German expressionist adaptation of Dracula has been reimagined before, most notably in Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake, with Klaus Kinski playing the Transylvanian vampire. In Eggers’ version, the iconic role is taken on by Bill Skarsgård. Although the Swedish actor faced disappointment earlier this year with the troubled remake of The Crow, Nosferatu’s atmospheric trailers set high expectations, and critics praise the cast, including Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Nicholas Hoult, for delivering remarkable performances.
Critical Acclaim:
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IGN’s Siddhant Adlakha awarded the film 9/10, calling it Eggers’ best work yet. He commends the director for crafting a unique, fresh take on the gothic vampire tale while cleverly drawing from F.W. Murnau’s silent film and Bram Stoker’s novel. "This brilliant horror remake preserves the vampire legend but reshapes it into a terrifying, candlelit fable about bodily autonomy—or its absence," writes Adlakha, who describes Lily-Rose Depp’s performance as heartbreaking and Skarsgård’s portrayal of the vampire as deeply unsettling.
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Nick Schager of The Daily Beast declares, "Nosferatu is the best film of the year, and I’ve seen them all." He describes the remake as both a grim fairy tale and a gleeful frenzy, calling it an instant horror classic. "Eggers has an unparalleled grasp of atmosphere, rhythm, and composition, making Nosferatu a twisted portrait of desire that is toxic, destructive, yet also empowering and redemptive," Schager states.
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Nicholas Barber (BBC) calls the film a standout remake but rates it 4/5, noting that while Eggers’ adaptation is layered and innovative, it remains a Dracula story at its core, filled with familiar characters and inevitable, sorrowful outcomes. Nevertheless, Barber praises Eggers’ meticulous direction and assures horror fans that Nosferatu is sufficiently bloody and shocking.
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Johnny Oleksinski (New York Post) gives the film 3.5/4, proclaiming Skarsgård as horror’s new king post-Nosferatu. He also praises Willem Dafoe’s humorous portrayal of Von Franz, a Van Helsing-like character, noting that the humor balances the film’s length without detracting from its terror. According to Oleksinski, "Roughly 98% of the film is pure terror."
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Meagan Navarro (Bloody Disgusting) awards the film a perfect 5/5, describing it as a hypnotic, spine-chilling masterpiece that reimagines Murnau’s original as a psychosexual gothic tragedy. Similarly, Clarisse Loughrey (Independent) also gives a perfect score, asserting that Eggers has delivered the most viscerally frightening horror in years while breathing new life into a classic monster.
More Reserved Reactions:
Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian) gives Nosferatu 3/5, describing it as an intelligent and respectable homage but criticizing it for not taking bold enough risks, resulting in a predictable story. Meanwhile, Variety praises the film’s nearly monochromatic aesthetic but finds fault with the Count’s character design and the underdeveloped exploration of his motivations.
With reviews ranging from glowing to lukewarm, Nosferatu is shaping up to be one of the year’s most talked-about horror films. Will Eggers’ bold vision and Skarsgård’s performance live up to the hype? Fans won’t have long to wait to find out.
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