An eternal scare: “Nosferatu”
Robert Egger’s new reinterpretation of the original 1922 “Nosferatu” was released on Christmas Day. Seductive and hauntingly gothic, the film left audience members in gory glory. Egger stories the sickly relationship between Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) and mentally unwell Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp). The adaptation earned $100 million in box office revenue after only ten days in theaters.
While many potential viewers are put off by the “excessive” gore or lack of attractive vampires, the new “Nosferatu” is sure to make Letterboxd top fours nationwide. Production designer Craig Lathrop captivates the audience; by bringing storyboards to life with historic period sets as a reflection of the characters. Cinematographer Jarin Blascke is equally talented, using color and saturation to clue viewers into Ellen’s state of mind. While visibly creating captivating scenes through lighting, Blascke approached moonlight colors showing onscreen as blue, highlighting the innocence between Ellen and Thomas away from the darkness.
Not only was the lighting tactical, but the dedication by actress Depp showed off her wide range in acting. In an interview with ET, Depp shares her challenges on set as Ellen. Tasked with the physically demanding work of replicating possessive-like motions through her body. Depp embodied the motions through constant movement to portray Ellen’s mental state as a supernatural being. Along with extreme movement in her role, Depp got access to research more about her character as Ellen from Egger’s to help originate her performance. “All of us got a ton of knowledge to drive into, and inspiration for different things. Eggers sent certain things he liked for performance and atmosphere. I had specific inspiration and everybody got tailor-made research for their character which was cool” Depp said. Behind the eerie soundtrack, sound editor Damian Volpe and composer Robin Carplon worked in collaboration to enhance the spine-thrilling music. With the help of actors Bill Skarsgard and Lily-Rose Depp, they both underwent ADR sessions. ADR sessions [automated dialogue replacement] are set in a post-production stage while re-recording dialogue in the studio to replace lines from the film. Because of this, more dialogue in the lm was raw and annunciated better to create a more overwhelming feeling toward viewers. Skarsgard was also an important component of the sound design as before filming, he worked with an opera singer to expand the range of his voice to create the iconic voice he played as Count Orlok. As a lot went into preparation for his voice, Skarsgard went through a rigorous process of finding a proper vocal routine that allowed him to voice his character chillingly. In terms of sound design, editor Damian Volpe and composer Robin Carplan along with other sound supervisors used the participation of actors Bill Skarsgard and Lily-Rose Depp. Through ADR sessions with the actors, they rerecorded specific scenes to accentuate the period film. Skarsgard was a huge importance in sound design as he continuously worked with an opera singer to lower his voice an octave, pushing himself to a point where he almost damaged his vocal cords.
As Carplan was tasked to experiment with the music, he struggled with small tasks such as replicating odd sounds in the film through instrumental tools. While also maintaining the emotion throughout the film in different scenes. “Rob is obsessed with authenticity and everything being periodically correct. I couldn’t use electronics and had to use traditional instruments and experiments when creating odd sounds.” Carplan said. It’s clear that a er watching ‘Nosferatu’ viewers had explosive reactions when sharing their review on social media. From beginning to end, viewers online could feel the connection between Count Orlok and Ellen, romanticizing their relationship. Not only were viewers struck in fear by Count Orlok’s appearance, but many in their seats jumped from horror throughout the film. In particular, Herr Knock (Simon Mcburney) appeared in scenes flooded with ghastly elements making his character unforgettable.
The film has been in the early stages of development for almost a decade film director; Eggers took a careful and selective approach to what he envisioned his reinterpretation to be before he announced starting production in July 2015. After watching the original Nosferatu as a teenager, Eggers knew he found his dream project in his future filmmaking career.
“When I was 17 I did a high school production of “Nosferatu” with my friend on stage. After, a local theater impresario saw the show and invited us to do a more professional version of it in his theater.” Eggers said. “That made me sure that this is what I wanted to do in my career.”