Nosferatu was overhyped and dull

As an homage to 1922's Nosferatu and as a film that purportedly explores themes of repressed sexuality, the two films I would compare and contrast it with would be Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and Herzog's 1979 remake of Nosferatu. I absolutely loved "The Northman" so I have no bias against Eggers and might even have called myself a fan.

  1. Visually it was disgusting. CGI*, HD, unnatural colours...it was garish. Coppola's, and particularly Herzog's film were both visually stunning for different reasons (Coppola's more campy and colourful, Herzog's more subtle and authentic). It was not immersive; I was very aware I was watching a film.
  2. The dialogue felt stilted, unnatural and not authentic to the period. The sex dynamics seemed to reflect modern perspectives of the 19th century, rather than the 19th century itself.
  3. The opening scene was jarring. It was if the movie had begun abruptly in medias res. It established no feelings of excitement, or mystery, or, y'know...horror. The opening scene of "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is epic, exciting, tragic...the opening scene of Egger's Nosferatu just feels inconsequential and out of place.
  4. The movie is just dull. It feels like every scene is just a vehicle for a plot that either doesn't stand on its own merits or is being poorly handled by uninspired acting and immemorable dialogue. Hoult was two dimensional. Depp was anachronistic. Skarsgard was needlessly dramatic to the point of parody.
  5. It's too long yet packs very little of substance into the movie. Herzog's movie felt like an immersive journey where one could pause to indulge in the scenery which doubled the impact of the more horrifying scenes. Coppola's enjoyed natural transitions between countries, periods, tones and moods, whether the battlefields of the medieval Balkans, London at its most Victorian and romantic, or the decrepit castles and snow tipped mountains of Dracula's 19th century Romania. I had to go to the bathroom halfway through Egger's Nosferatu just to keep myself awake.

My two cents. Let me know what you think.

*It looked CGI.