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Robert Eggers

Nosferatu – Robert Eggers (2024)

  • horror

I had to look it up, but the case here is that in 1922 Murnau wanted to make a film of the novel Dracula of Bram Stoker that has been published in 1897. Stoker had passed away in 1912 and his heirs made claim to the copyright of the book. In order to continue with his plan, Murnau still used the novel, but he changed names. Therefor the story does not play in the British village Whitby, but in the German Wisburg. Jonathan Harker became Thomas Hutter; Mina became Anna, Abraham von Helsing Albin Eberhart von Franz and Count Dracula Count Orlok. When Murnau’s film came out, the Stoker family sued him and won.

Eggers made a new version of Murnau’s film of a century ago, so he kept the names that Murnau used and not those of -for example- Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992).

As we got used to from Eggers’ films such as “The Lighthouse” and “The Northman“, “Nosferatu” became a nice, gritty, old-looking film with great camera work and sceneries. Fortunately he did not turn the film in a modern jumpscare horror (a few useless scenes aside), so what you will watch is a minimalist, slow, moody film with a known story. No surprises, but a descent film.

The Northman – Robert Eggers (2022)

  • action

I was so disappointed by The VVitch that I skipped “The Northman”? It does have a Viking theme, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicole Kidman as actors, plus, the not-so-bad Lighthouse and the upcoming Nosferatu are also of Eggers. Let us watch it anyway.

Eggers created another nicely looking gritty, dark movie. A bit overdone ‘dark’ are Amleth’s initiation and the Berzerkr scenes. These scenes are a bit sad in my eyes. There are other elements in which Eggers seems to have ‘bended history’ to make the film more interesting.

So, some local king returns from battle and realises that he has to confer authority to his young son in case he would die soon. Amleth is initiated and immediately his father is killed by his uncle. Amleth flees and we jump forward in time where we find Amleth as a fighter in a Berzerkr troupe.

He learns that his uncle now lives in Iceland, where he has himself transported to as a slave. On the ship he meets the Slavic Olga (Taylor-Joy). When Amleth is recruited by his uncle, he starts to terrorize the village.

The atmosphere is alright, the visuals are good, the story is thin.

The Lighthouse – Robert Eggers (2019)

  • arthouse

There has been quite some attention for this film recently, but it already somewhat older. In any case: “The Lighthouse” is one of the too few unconventional films on Netflix.

With an aspect ratio of 1.19 : 1 the screen is almost square. The images look like worn Polaroid photos in (gritty) grey scales. Visually, the film is already unconventional.

We follow two men who are up for a four week shift to man a lighthouse on a remote island. Thomas Wake (William Dafoe) is a former seaman, now a rowdy lighthouse keeper. Thomas Howard (Robert Pattinson) is the newbie fleeing from his past. Wake, the rough main man, is a weird character.

Nothing much happens in the film. The two men try to get along, but their characters differ too much. Only alcohol seems to soften the tensions. Howard is not the first who slowly starts to loose his mind which gives Eggers the opportunity to make some nicely weird scenes. Largely the film has a bit of a nightmarish atmosphere.

Not a masterpiece, but something different for sure.

The VVitch – Robert Eggers (2015)

What did I miss? What is it that people like about this film? I get a bit of a “Midsommar” feeling. Another such applauded film that only worked on my nerves.

“The VVitch” is pretty boring. A very Christian family moved from England to the new world. The ideas of the father do not entirely work with the rest of the village so they move to a remote place in a forest.

Praying day and night, seeing the Devil’s work everywhere, the family works itself into the ground. The only positive thing is the presence of Anya Taylor-Joy. The story is boring, the acting is boring, there is no atmosphere…

I guess I missed something.