Warning: Spoilers forNosferatu.
Written and directed by Robert Eggers,Nosferatuis a remake of the silent film of the same name from 1922, which isbased on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novelDracula.The gothic horror film strikes an unsettling tone from the moment Lily-Rose Depp’s character, Ellen, begins to pray for any spirit to love her. With her mother dead and her father emotionally distant, her loneliness drives her to seek out companionship. However, a beastly vampire, Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), is the only thing that answers her prayers. After appearing to her in a ghastly vision, the creature induces a seizer before the film jumps ahead “years later.” Now married toThomas (Nicholas Hoult), a real estate agent and the love of her life, Ellen resides in Wisborg, Germany. Over the years, she has managed to keep the horrifying creature in her mind at bay, at least until the beast discovers her recent nuptials.
Unbeknownst to Thomas, Orlok has set in motion a sinister plan to reclaim Ellen for his own. As the Count’s secret and faithful servant, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), Thomas’ employer, sends Thomas to Orlok’s Carpathian mountaintop castle in Transylvania to facilitate the sale of a decrepit castle in Wisborg. Thomas obliges, believing the deal will secure his position at the real estate firm, but Orlok has no plans to allow him to leave alive. Plagued by horrid visions upon his arrival, Thomas reluctantly secures the deal but cannot depart for home despite his wishes. After discovering the truth about Orlok and the beast’s psychic connection to Ellen, Thomas narrowly escapes the castle by jumping into a nearby river. He ultimately returns to his beloved wife, but his arrival coincides with Orlok’s, who has brought the plague with him. As Ellencontinues to resist the Count’s efforts, and the plague runs rampant, no one in Wisborg is safe.
How and Why Does Orlok Travel to Wisborg?
Since the time Ellen was young and prayed for companionship, Orlok had an unwilling hold over her. Having lusted for her since their first encounter, he convinced her to promise herself to him when he first manifested himself in her dreams. Although connected emotionally and somewhat telepathically, he never connected with her physically, and to fulfill the promise she made when she was young, she must reaffirm the oath willingly.
However, Orlok is unable to leave his home in Transylvania because he must always return to the dirt in which he was buried, otherwise he dies when the sun finally rises. Unable to reach Ellen physically, he continues to torment her via dreams and visions for most of her life. Now aware of the love she shares with Thomas, Orlok decides to relocate to Wisborg to physically connect with Ellen and force her to recommit her oath and submit herself to him.
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With the aid of his servant, Herr, Orlok obtains the deed to a crumbling castle in Wisborg and sets in motion his plan to travel to the city. With crates of dirt from his home in Transylvania, the Count makes the treacherous journey across the sea, and he brings the plague with him. Upon his arrival, the plague isunleashed via heaps of ratsbefore Herr transports Orlok to his new home. Filled with lust for Ellen, the Count then approaches her in the night, but she refuses to submit to him. Angered by her response, Orlok gives her three nights to willingly repledge her oath, or those she loves will meet a perilous fate. Determined to consume her flesh and drink her blood, Orlok wants Ellen all to himself.
Does Ellen Rid Herself of Orlok?
After Ellen refuses Orlok on the first night, he promptly returns on the second night and kills her friend Anna (Emma Corrin) as well as Anna’s two young girls. Consumed by grief, Anna’s husband, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), dies from the plague the following day. Realizing they must do all they can to kill the Count, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe), Dr. Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson), and Thomas set out to kill Orlok with iron or by keeping him from the Transylvanian dirt once the sun rises. However, with the men awayto combat the vampire, Ellen realizes that she’s the only one who can save them all.
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As the only one who can hold Orlok’s attention, Ellen gives herself to him while Thomas and the others are away. By allowing the Count to lie with her and feed on her, she distracts him until morning. When the sun finally rises, it’s too late for Orlok, who dies and takes the plague with him as his shriveled body rests on top of Ellen. By the time Thomas recognizes what his wife planned to do all along, he’s run out of time. He makes his way back to her just in time to hold her hand as she dies.Ellen finally rids herself of Orlok, but only at the expense of her own life.Nosferatuis currently playing in theaters.
Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name from director F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers is crafting his own version of the story for the reboot as writer and director, with Bill Skarsgård stepping into the shoes of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the tale of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire utterly infatuated with her.
