Nosferatu (2025) & The Witch (2015)

A new year brings the illusion of fresh opportunity, not for resolutions - I’m not one for those - but for a structured engagement with something I love: film. This year, I’ve set the goal of watching one film each week, which is new to me.‘New’ in the context of my challenge is not necessarily about recent releases but rather any film I have not yet watched. We all have those lists of films we want to watch but become easy to move past. . .

To kick off my 2025 year of film reviews, I’ve started with a double feature from Robert Eggers. His latest release, Nosferatu, and his debut feature from 2015, The Witch. A pair of films that complement and harmonise with each other, allowing for a haunting and stylish start to the year. Lets jump right in. . .

Nosferatu

Directed by: Robert Eggers

Rating: 15

Articulating my thoughts in this review is a challenge, particularly when coming to terms with whether or not I felt this film was a success or not from my perspective. Visually, it is a grotesquely beautiful work of art, haunting with meticulous design and the sound that accompanies the visuals steals the show. Yet, since watching it, I can’t shake the feeling akin to Ellen’s pull towards a soulless entity - curious, compelled, but ultimately left hollow. The film is not bad. During my experience in the cinema, I was hooked from start to end, but there’s an ineffable quality, something out of reach that feels absent. 

Robert Egger’s Nosferatu (2025) is a reimagining of the 1922 silent film by F.W Murnau. While retaining the narrative structure of 1922, Egger expands on the psychological depth and gives the character of Ellen more autonomy to drive the plot. Set in 19th Century Germany, the film follows Thomas Hutter (played by Nichola Hoult), a real estate agent, as he travels to Transylvania to finalise a property deal with Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard). Driven by an obsession with Hutter’s wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), Orlok looks to move to Thomas’s hometown and seduce Ellen while bringing disease, death and devastation to the locals. 

Nosferatu was at its best during Thomas’s visit to Orlok’s castle. The tension and fear were heightened, and the mystery behind Orlok was maintained. The sense of pure dread and evil was at its most intense during the early interactions of Thomas and Count Orlok. The Count was always kept in shadow or out of focus, allowing the audience to experience the same space as Thomas.