Nosferatu (2024)

Plot of Nosferatu: Thomas Hutter, a young solicitor living in the town of Wisborg with his wife Ellen, who is suffering from strange trances, is given a commission by his boss Knock to go to Transylvania to negotiate the sale of a ruined castle in the town to Count Orlok. Close to the count’s castle Hutter looks for accommodation in a village, but finding his association with the count the villagers are reluctant to help him. He  follows a group who dig up a body and spike it with a metal rod, claiming it is a vampire. Hutter goes on to the castle, taken by a mysterious coach, where in the gloom he meets Orlok, and they immediately conclude the signing of the documents. When Hutter cuts his thumb Orlok becomes excited, revealing his vampirism. Thereafter the count keeps the young man in the castle, feeding from him at times until Hutter, chased by the counts wolves, falls from a castle window into a river, and is rescued by nuns. Meanwhile the count sails for Wisborg, killing the crew on the way, and the ship grounds in Wisborg harbour, allowing a plague of rats ashore. Ellen is visited by the count who tells her she must accept him willingly to save the town. Hutter, now back, with others get help to combat the vampire, but will they manage.

Content: There is nudity. The village group on the track of a vampire includes a naked young woman on the horse, for some reason. Later women are ravished by the vampire, and Orlok himself is mostly naked, although also mostly in shadow. The film is shown in individual disconnected scenes. Ellen attracts the count into her dreams, and afterwards suffers spasms. Knock, Hutter’s boss turns out to be a pawn in the pay of the count, and later goes mad, at one point biting the head off a pigeon. Hutter attempts to kill the count in his castle but fails. He has made the journey on a horse, then on foot before being picked up by the count’s ghostly coach. Back in Wisborg, the count’s ship arrives and crashes into the quay, allowing a plague of rats into the town. There are no crew left. Hutter and his friend Friedrich get help from Dr Von Franz, but Orlok kills Friedrich’s wife and children gruesomely. This is not a film to be watched by the young so stick to the classification.

A View: A lot happens in this film, and I wondered about it until I read a description of the 1922 version which it seems to follow precisely. We saw it in the cinema and it is very noisy, like lots of other films these days making the best use of the modern sound systems. I did have some logics problems. I could not really work out how Hutter would manage the trip by himself on a horse. This is probably how it was done in 1922, later versions also having a problem with it, so falling back on public transport. And how about the ship? The plot needs it, but only if the destination is Whitby. But all that said a terrific film which makes you want to see the original.

Fun Fact: Bram Stoker’s widow sued the makers of the 1922 film and won, and the judge decreed that all copies of the film should be destroyed. It is therefore luck that any copies survived.