Last night, I watched my first Robert Eggers movie, Nosferatu.
From a technical point of view, the movie is impressive. The cinematography is stunning, and the top-notch acting serves the story. It’s just that I find the story of Dracula more compelling than the story of Nosferatu.
Comparisons with Bram Stoker’s Dracula are inevitable. I think Dracula is much more compelling. The characters in Dracula are more believable and engaging. I care more about what happens to them.
Nosferatu has a consistently creepy vibe. It includes several disgusting scenes, such as a man eating the head off a live pigeon. Rats scurry about. The monstrous villain inspires dread. There is no shortage of blood and gore. The atmosphere is heavy throughout.
While present in Dracula, the theme of sexual shame takes center-stage in Nosferatu. Evil arises due to our sinful thoughts and actions. While Dracula shows us the contrast between good and evil, Nosferatu dwells in the shadows.
Sometimes more is not better.
Why do we watch these movies? We like to experience fear at a distance, from the relative safety of a movie theater. Monsters personify the darkness within us. We want to see the monsters slayed.
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