Nosferatu

By Focus Features - https://www.focusfeatures.com/nosferatu/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78513127

I finally watched Robert Eggers's Nosferatu last night. I think it might be his best film, or at least his most well made¹. If you have any interest in horror at all, Nosferatu should be a top choice. 

[Minor thematic SPOILERS ahead]

Unlike many horror movies, there are layers to it beyond evoking fear and dread. It isn't a popcorn movie. As I did with Passengers (not directed by Eggers), I perceive commentary about the roles of women and men and the relations between. I would say this is a theme in all of Eggers's movies thus far.

Maybe that's just me? I seem to read commentary into gender roles a lot lately in contemporary cinema and writing. I wouldn't have expected myself to be interested in such themes, but I perceive them all the time these last few years.

The vampire has been seen by many as a symbol of male libido and sexual aggression or similar. Women are the usual victims. The female role in Nosferatu shows that women have to make sacrifices in order to preserve society. Men aren't always up to it by themselves. It's the compromise that keeps society safe and functioning.

I read a take from a professor of literature and novelist, Aaron Gwyn², that he believes it is a commentary on the cycle of sexual abuse and trauma. 

https://x.com/AmericanGwyn/status/1873402341619302674

While I can see how he might think that, especially since Aaron has said he was a "child preacher" growing up, it isn't the first thing I thought.

Eggers has become one of my favorite directors. The only thing he's made that I didn't entirely like was The Lighthouse, which I basically thought was a dick joke, the lighthouse itself being an obvious phallic symbol. I realize there's a little more to it than that, and it also contains themes about gender, but I didn't think there was much of a plot. Still, it looked amazing like all of his films, and it stuck in my mind. This is the hallmark of a good director.

Nosforatu is at least two steps ahead of that. Well worth a watch.

Footnotes

1 I might still prefer to watch The Northman just because a viking movie is a little more to my taste. I'm pretty much always up for an action movie.

2 Aaron Gwyn is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.