---
title: "Nosferatu"
year: 2024
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/nosferatu"
fi1m_id: "nosferatu"
imdb_id: "tt5040012"
tmdb_id: 426063
wikidata_id: "Q116361132"
fi1m_score: 75
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 25
published: "2026-09-09"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:52.065514+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Nosferatu (2024)

Directed by Robert Eggers · 2h 13m · MPA R · Horror, Fantasy

## Identity

Nosferatu

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/nosferatu
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** nosferatu
- **IMDb ID:** tt5040012
- **TMDB ID:** 426063
- **Wikidata ID:** Q116361132
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5040012/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/426063, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116361132

**Fi1m score: 75** · Critics 72 from 25 reviews

*In a sentence:* Orlok has a moustache and a chest infection and is still only the second most frightening thing in the film

> English Eggers rebuilds the 1922 vampire film with candlelight, fog and a young woman who is its real subject. It is beautifully made and frightening in stretches, and solemn to a fault in others. Lily-Rose Depp is the reason to go.

## Synopsis

Wisborg, a German port, in the 1830s. Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), newly married and prone to fits her husband cannot explain, is left behind when Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) is sent east by his employer, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), to complete a property sale for a reclusive nobleman, Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Ellen lodges with the Hardings, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Emma Corrin), and her nights get worse. Thomas travels through the Carpathians to a castle where the count keeps odd hours. Willem Dafoe plays Professor von Franz, an occultist, and Ralph Ineson the family doctor, Sievers. English Eggers writes and directs, working from F.W. Murnau’s 1922 film and Bram Stoker’s novel.

## Review

English Eggers has made his *Nosferatu*: a period vampire film, routed back through F.W. Murnau’s 1922 original to Bram Stoker’s novel, built with the care he brought to *The Witch* (2015) and *The Lighthouse* (2019). It runs 133 minutes and carries a 15. It is good. It is not the frightening, strange thing its first hour promises, and it has one performance in it that is better than the film around it.

The setup is Murnau’s, with the emphasis moved. Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) once called out in the dark for company, and something answered. Years on, her husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) is sent east by his employer Knock (Simon McBurney) to close a sale with a count who wants a house in their town. Ellen lodges with the Hardings, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Emma Corrin); Thomas goes up a mountain in a coach with no driver.

Jarin Blaschke shoots the nights in a blue so drained that whole scenes read as black and white, with the candles the only warm thing in the frame. He lets a shadow cross a whole town before we see what casts it. Craig Lathrop’s Wisborg is wet cobbles and crooked gables; his castle is a black shell whose stones seem to sweat. Linda Muir dresses Ellen in white nightdresses always too thin for the weather. Robin Carolan’s score runs low strings and brass under nearly everything, voices rising whenever the count is near, and Louise Ford cuts the first hour with patience. The journey to the castle is the film’s best stretch, and it is almost silent.

About the count. Eggers drops Murnau’s bald, rat-faced thing for a dead nobleman with a moustache, a fur-collared coat and a voice dredged from the bottom of a well, every word arriving on an exhale. Bill Skarsgård is kept in shadow for a long time, and when we do see him he is rotting. In the castle we found him revolting and properly frightening. Later, when he starts talking about covenants and terms, less so. A monster who explains his contract is a landlord.

Depp is the reason to go. Eggers makes this Ellen’s story rather than Thomas’s, and Depp carries it in her body: the back arching off the bed, the jaw locking, a voice coming out of her that is not hers. The first time she goes rigid in the Harding house we were frightened in the way that makes you glance behind your own sofa, and it was not the count who did it. It was her, and the sound of her spine. She also plays Ellen’s wanting, not only her terror, and the film is honest enough not to pretend the two are separate.

The men are a mixed lot. Hoult plays Thomas as a decent man out of his depth. Willem Dafoe’s von Franz, an occultist, arrives around the halfway point and lets some air in, with a relish some will find too much; we found it a relief. Taylor-Johnson’s Harding is a man of business who believes none of it, and the script is unkind to him for that. Ralph Ineson is solid as the doctor, and McBurney gives Knock a giggling servility that is unpleasant in the right way.

The trouble is solemnity. Nobody in this film speaks quickly, laughs, or says anything that is not a declaration, and the formal period English Eggers has written for them gets heavy by the second hour. Back in Wisborg, the film settles into a story most of the audience knows beat for beat. Somewhere in that stretch we noticed we were checking how much was left. Eggers has given Murnau’s story a great deal more explanation, and the story did not need it.

Against his own films this is the largest, and the one that surprised us least. *The Witch* had one family and one goat; *The Lighthouse* had two men and a gull. Watch this one in the dark with the sound up. The count’s breathing sits under most scenes, and with the lights on and the volume low it becomes a handsome costume drama with a sick man in it.

*Fi1m score 75, published 9 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like it, though few without complaint, and the spread is wide. The praise clusters on the look of the thing: the production design, the candlelit compositions and a dread that most agree Eggers keeps up for the full running time. Bill Skarsgård’s Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp’s Ellen are named again and again, Depp above all by IndieWire and /Film, who treat her as the film’s centre.

The reservations cluster on pace and purpose: several reviews find the opening slow and the tone humourless, and a handful ask why another faithful adaptation is needed. The dissent is loud and comes from large papers. Variety and the Los Angeles Times call it drained of life, The Times judges the performances a career low, Sight and Sound thinks this Orlok less menacing than the 1922 original, and The New Yorker objects to the sexual politics of its climax. Even the doubters concede the craft; the argument is over whether anything lives inside it.

## Straight answers

**Is Nosferatu worth watching?**

*Nosferatu* is worth watching for anyone who likes their horror slow, candlelit and solemn, and we scored it 75. Lily-Rose Depp is the reason to go: the first hour is properly frightening, the second settles into a story most of the audience knows and explains more than it needs to. Watch it in the dark with the sound up.

**How long is Nosferatu, and what is it rated?**

*Nosferatu* runs 2h 13m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a horror and fantasy film.

**Where can I watch Nosferatu in the US?**

*Nosferatu* is streaming on Hulu and Disney+ in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Nosferatu, and is it suitable for children?**

*Nosferatu* carries a 15 certificate and is not for children. Count Orlok is a rotting corpse kept in shadow, and Ellen's fits, the back arching off the bed and the jaw locking, frightened us more than he did; there is also a frankness about desire alongside the terror. Older teenagers who can sit through two slow, dark hours will manage; the squeamish may not.

**How does Nosferatu compare to Let the Right One In?**

*Nosferatu* is the grander and more openly frightening of the two, and [*Let the Right One In*](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in) is the better film. Eggers gives you fog, a black castle and a count with a chest infection; Alfredson gives you Swedish snow, a bullied boy and a vampire next door, told quietly and patiently. Choose Eggers for dread and spectacle, Alfredson for something tender that unsettles you longer.

**Is Nosferatu based on a true story or a book?**

*Nosferatu* is not a true story: it is adapted from Bram Stoker's novel by way of F.W. Murnau's 1922 film, which Eggers rebuilds rather than copies. He moves the emphasis to Ellen, the young wife, and adds a good deal more explanation than Murnau's version had. You need know neither the book nor the earlier film; most viewers will recognise the story beat for beat anyway.

**What should I watch after Nosferatu?**

After *Nosferatu*, try [*Nosferatu*](https://film.one/film/nosferatu-1922) (1922, Fi1m 88): Murnau’s original: no dialogue, one silhouette on a staircase, still the model for all of them. Then [*Vampyr*](https://film.one/film/vampyr) (1932, Fi1m 85): Dreyer’s near-silent dream film; shadows walk without owners and nobody explains anything; and [*Let the Right One In*](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in) (2008, Fi1m 88): Swedish snow, a lonely boy and a vampire next door; quiet, patient and properly cold.

### Reviews we read (28)

- **Little White Lies**, Charles Bramesco (3/5/5): Eggers realises a lifelong dream with spellbinding results that reduce the vampire myth to its essence of sex and death. It is an immaculate feat of craft in thrall to a malevolent power. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/nosferatu)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Matt Zoller Seitz (90/100, inferred): Eggers’ Nosferatu is a cryptic, beautiful and unsettling experience that transports viewers as if told by the vampire or a victim, with a low rumbling soundtrack, painterly landscapes and a sense of genuine evil that distorts reality. The critic singles out Bill Skarsgård’s repugnant yet mesmerizing performance as the vampire and Lily-Rose Depp’s physical contortions as standout elements in this fusion of Murnau and Stoker influences. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/nosferatu)
- **Radio Times** (85/100, inferred): Eggers’s Nosferatu is a thing of beauty that is creepy and compelling, keeping viewers transfixed. It is a triumphant, visually resplendent horror with strong performances from Depp and Hoult. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/nosferatu-review/)
- **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): Eggers has crafted an absorbing nightmare of gothic horror that teeters on the edge of madness. It is an elegantly woven tapestry of encroaching evil led by a memorable monster performance. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/nosferatu-review/5199059.article)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (85/100, inferred): Eggers delivers a superlative, mesmeric Gothic horror nightmare that feels like the culmination of his career. The film is praised for its dense atmosphere, macabre poetry, and the director's commanding vision over the material. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/nosferatu-review-bill-skarsgard-lily-rose-depp-nicholas-hoult-robert-eggers-1236074321/)
- **Total Film**, Becky Darke (85/100, inferred): Skarsgård delivers an unrecognizable, transformative performance as the terrifying Orlok in this gothic horror; Eggers crafts a biting, atmospheric remake faithful to the source's dread and shadow-play. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/nosferatu-review/)
- **Empire**, Jamie Graham (4/5): Eggers delivers a conviction-filled retelling that rescues the vampire from modern clichés and returns it to folkloric roots with haunting atmosphere and strong turns from Depp and Skarsgård, though the familiar story and pacing may distance some viewers. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/nosferatu-2024/)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (80/100, inferred): Eggers' gorgeous adaptation breathes fresh life into the vampire tale through a revelatory, stunning performance by Lily-Rose Depp as a woman torn by unconscious desire. The psychosexual fairy tale anchors the film in its exploration of darkness and longing. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/nosferatu-review-robert-eggers-lily-rose-depp-1235071494/)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (80/100, inferred): Eggers delivers a retro gothic fairy-tale with meticulous historical detail and a slinking sense of dread that transcends familiar Dracula tropes; performances, especially Depp and Skarsgård, shine in creating physical terror and shadow-play horror. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/disturbing-nosferatu-terrify-cynics-3443626)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): Eggers crafts a deeply sinister, slow-burning take that becomes genuinely chilling in its second half. It is a worthy modern addition to the classic horror lineage despite lacking some thematic resonance. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/nosferatu-review-2025)
- **The AV Club**, Katie Rife (B): The sumptuous, meticulously realized horror is the movie Eggers has been building toward, though its terminally self-serious tone makes it a solemn death march. Atmosphere alone makes it a triumph, but it strains engagement over its runtime. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/nosferatu-review)
- **Evening Standard**, Nick Howells (70/100, inferred): The critic praises the latter 90 minutes of skin-crawling dread and majestic visuals and performances but finds the first 40-minute build-up ponderous and overwrought, potentially losing viewers early. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/nosferatu-review-lilyrose-depp-robert-eggers-b1198512.html)
- **Sight and Sound**, Kim Newman (60/100, inferred): Eggers brings fresh eyes and potent dread to the vampire classic but his Orlok lacks the menace of the original. The film is a risky reimagining that adds much new material yet renders the vampire a pathetic figure at the end. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/nosferatu-risk-taking-reimagining-foundational-movie-vampire)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (40/100, inferred): Visually striking with compositions rivaling Flemish paintings and faithful to the 1922 film, the remake is more accessible yet eerily drained of life. The critic singles out pretentious dialogue, somnolent pacing and weak performances, especially Lily-Rose Depp’s, as weighing down the tragic finale despite the sumptuous production design and cinematography. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/nosferatu-review-robert-eggers-lily-rose-depp-1236222769/)
- **Vulture** (40/100, inferred): Eggers' painstakingly detailed vampire drama is gorgeous but weirdly inert and bloodless, lacking the unsettling energy of his prior work. The film veers toward the bloodless despite intriguing ideas and strong set pieces like Thomas's journey to the castle. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-shouldnt-nosferatu-be-scarier.html)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (30/100, inferred): Eggers’ remake expands on the 1922 classic with more backstory and rationalization, making it longer, dialogue-heavy and sluggish while shifting focus to Ellen as the central character. The critic singles out the sickening implication that Ellen must refuck her rapist to save the world, turning foregrounding of the female character into a vampiric victory rather than progress. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-new-nosferatu-drains-the-life-from-its-predecessor)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh (20/100, inferred): Eggers delivers an overly faithful retelling that is straight-faced, interminably dull and hamstrung by reverence for the original, with more explicit violence and sex but no imagination or subtext. The critic singles out the lack of eroticism, scares or timely metaphor, calling it dead on arrival and choked by its own worship of the source. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-12-24/nosferatu-review-robert-eggers-lily-rose-depp-nicholas-hoult-bill-skarsgard-horror)
- **Financial Times**, Danny Leigh (★★★☆☆): An artisanal horror made with care and invention featuring strong Gothic style, but the vampire feels understated and fuzzy in memory compared to the high style around him. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/e25c8b39-1482-4c2b-82fa-6a1040879fed)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The film is a handsomely produced and stylised homage that walks the line between self-conscious and scary, with beautiful images but a vampire that is more studied than insidiously frightening. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/02/nosferatu-review-robert-eggers-lily-rose-depp-bill-skarsgard)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★☆☆☆): A vapid adaptation drenched in spectacle that never justifies its existence, with truly terrible career-low performances from the cast including a parody-like Willem Dafoe. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/nosferatu-review-truly-terrible-career-low-performances-r5fs2gzxg)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (5/5): Praises the film as a psychosexual tragedy centered on Ellen and her draw toward death, highlighting its juxtaposition of radiant beauty and putrid decay. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/nosferatu-review-robert-eggers-beautiful/)
- **Collider**, Jeff Ewing (9/10): Eggers delivers a masterful, visually stunning remake that stands as the best horror film of 2024. The critic singles out the oppressive atmosphere, meticulous production design, and strong performances, especially from Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård, for praise. [Read](https://collider.com/nosferatu-2024-review/)
- **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (9/10): The critic praises the film as a genuinely scary gothic horror that feels authentic and atmospheric, singling out Lily-Rose Depp's mesmerizing and ferocious performance as Ellen for particular praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1723412/robert-eggers-nosferatu-review/)
- **Deadline**, Damon Wise (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Eggers' modern update for centering Ellen's unfathomable capacity for darkness and for its perverse, technically brilliant tango with death. It highlights the superb rendering of the late-19th century setting and the film's baked-in longevity that will keep viewers returning. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/12/nosferatu-review-robert-eggers-lily-rose-depp-nicholas-hoult-gothic-vampire-romance-1236191438/)
- **Digital Spy**, Ian Sandwell (85/100, inferred): Calls it the best horror movie of the year for its seductive atmosphere, strong performances especially from Depp and Skarsgård, and emotional depth. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a63066032/nosferatu-review/)
- **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): The review commends Eggers for doing justice to the classic material in a grim, gorgeous redo that empowers Orlok as both repulsive monster and sexual force. It singles out the haunting cinematography, Skarsgård's visceral performance, and Depp's monumental turn while noting minor quibbles about the film feeling more like an update than a wholly new take. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/nosferatu-review-robert-eggers-bill-skarsgard-dracula/)
- **NME**, Lou Thomas (3/5): Notes the stunning visuals and energetic cast but criticizes the film for lacking substance and questions the need for another faithful adaptation. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/nosferatu-review-faithful-dracula-remake-nicholas-hoult-3819771)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (40/100, inferred): Eggers's meticulous remake is gorgeously crafted and technically accomplished but ultimately feels inert and lacking in emotional core or genuine scares. The critic singles out the overly studied construction and absence of heart or radical revisionism for complaint. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2024/12/23/movies/nosferatu-movie-review-robert-eggers)

## Details

- **Director:** Robert Eggers
- **Director:** Robert Eggers
- **Writer:** Robert Eggers
- **Novel:** Bram Stoker
- **Cinematography:** Jarin Blaschke
- **Editor:** Louise Ford
- **Music:** Robin Carolan
- **Production design:** Craig Lathrop
- **Costume design:** Linda Muir
- **Producer:** Jeff Robinov, John Graham, Chris Columbus
- **Cast:** Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter; Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter; Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok; Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding; Willem Dafoe as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz; Emma Corrin as Anna Harding; Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers; Simon McBurney as Herr Knock
- **Runtime:** 2h 13m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 25 December 2024
- **Genres:** Horror, Fantasy
- **Budget:** $50 million
- **Box office:** $182 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulvWqYUM8k

## Where to watch in the US

- Hulu: streaming, uhd
- Disney+: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $7.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Nosferatu* (1922), Fi1m 88: Murnau’s original: no dialogue, one silhouette on a staircase, still the model for all of them — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/nosferatu-1922.md)
- *Nosferatu the Vampyre* (1979): Herzog’s remake, slower and sadder, with Klaus Kinski as a count who is tired of living
- *Vampyr* (1932), Fi1m 85: Dreyer’s near-silent dream film; shadows walk without owners and nobody explains anything — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/vampyr.md)
- *Cronos* (1993): Del Toro’s first film treats immortality as a family problem, with warmth and insects
- *Let the Right One In* (2008), Fi1m 88: Swedish snow, a lonely boy and a vampire next door; quiet, patient and properly cold — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in.md)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/nosferatu