The ‘Bloodborne’-esque Milieu of ‘Nosferatu’ Beguiled Me
The beauty of shadows
A solemn declaration: I did not fully understand Nosferatu (2/3 perhaps?), nor am I positive it works as a "film" in the traditional sense of the word. What I'm sure of, though, is two things: Robert Eggers is a sicko, and his fourth feature is a gorgeous aberration of putrescence that blossoms from gloomy shadows and a stylized eeriness — an elusive yet attainable vibe also permeating From Software's beloved 2015 action-horror RPG, Bloodborne.
If you've just asked what's From Software and Bloodborne, you have homework to do. But to sum it up quickly: it’s a Soulsborne video game from a studio that prides itself on making distinctive and extremely challenging products that aren’t for players aiming to relax by firing up their console to have a breezy two-hour playtime with a game they’ll forget the next week. First, you need to die inside (and on the screen about 274 times), then reborn to start enjoying anything that director Hidetaka Miyazaki births from his creative, deviant, sadistic mind.
And now, onto the nightmares.
Nosferatu doesn’t feel like a movie. It’s a mood — a stimulant. Eggers doesn’t want to tell you a story as much as toss you into a tenebrous vision, a lucid and psychotic state of mind replete with various alterations of horror. I don’t think there’s a message in Nosferatu. I don't think there are characters here to relate to, root, or even fear for. It isn’t an intellectual provocation — at least not to me, though if you can find all kinds of reads that stick to it, feel free and have at it — but a visual spectre.
A phantasmagoria painted with the wide brushes of cinema and filmmaking, resembling an atmosphere and milieu that overflows in Bloodborne. As in every Soulsborne creation, there’s an inherent obscurity and enigma that virtually never reveals itself entirely. You need to peel the layers back to discover what each of them holds. It’s one of the reasons why fans (like me) are obsessed and keep replaying these games because there’s always something unseen to discover. Whether it’s murky lore, a hidden location, or an optional boss fight, something unexpected always emerges with each playthrough. I'm unsure if Nosferatu is that rich, but the inkling is there. That’s because it’s recurringly arcane (a quality that also defines Bloodborne), abundant with folklore and alchemy due to its historical and iconic source material and its many iterations.
Although the movie takes place in the fictional town of Germany’s Wisborg — for legal reasons since the original is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula — it evidently channels the emblematic and gothic Victorian era similarly to Bloodborne. In fact, the game heavily draws influence from Stoker’s novel, too, and Romania and the Czech Republic were referenced for creating its setting, Yharnam, where our hero wakes and takes on his journey. The connection is clearly there if we care to look for it.
I mean, the art direction speaks for itself:
Bloodborne is also admittedly Lovecraftian with no vampires (werewolves are more its schtick), yet the implicit fear of the unknown that its dream sequences represent is prevalent in Nosferatu to a degree, too. Ellen’s (Lily-Rose Depp) ghastly dreams may not be as ethereal and vivid as the ones in Miyazaki’s vision, but they certainly convey a foreboding of something dark and sinister. In the first half of the film, Eggers (and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke) immerses Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) in overbearing shades and imbues his aura with an elusive but potent dread that feels intangible yet physically commanding and restrictive. Orlok revels in silhouettes and contours like a god of darkness, pulsating with pores that permeate rot and death. It’s like he exhales madness and frenzy that infects every human being he comes in contact with on a physical or a spiritual level.
I believe the movie works best in these moments where Orlok is more of an ambiguous shape than a concrete and firm figure. Eggers’ profuse cinematic vocabulary allows him to stretch these periods longer and longer to evoke chills and a comfortless, anxiety-ridden disposition that employs the essences of horror magnificently. I found that the second half of Nosferatu, where Orlok becomes more real and palpable — both in his presence and otherworldly power — was far less exciting and piercing than when he’s been more of a shifty being.
Those first few encounters with him — as he growls, whispers, and grunts in the shadows — recall some of the most frightening and unsettling cut scenes in Bloodborne prefacing a boss fight. It’s no secret that From Software director Miyazaki aims to make these sequences as perverse and startling as possible (with a beyond-fucked-up and evocative collection of imagery). Usually, these are followed by equally difficult and bloody battles where you can barely allow yourself to breathe because of the intensity of the adrenaline coursing through your veins. For the most part, Nosferatu isn’t that ferocious — or at least not for hardcore horror fans — but certainly offers a comparably invigorating and nerve-wracking viewing experience.
More than simple jumpscares and excessive gore, that’s what I relish the most in horrors that make their mission to dance and stomp on your nerves constantly. It’s an extremely difficult task that only a few achieve (The Ring, It Follows, and Us come to mind), and it rarely occurs in a mainstream movie that millions anticipate and look forward to before it even comes out. Thus Nosferatu is quite a rare breed — surely utilizing Eggers’ fame and rising popularity with cinephiles over the past decade — that not only defied expectations but was more or less able to hold up to them. Just by simply looking at its impressive box office performance and lauded critical reception, you can tell it’s the kind of adaptation that doesn’t happen often, especially not in this genre.
And I could never have guessed that it would beguile me through my love and fandom of Bloodborne (and other From Software games) in the way it did.
I know I’ve been a bit neglectful with my Horror Aughts column (and I still owe you lot the third and final part of the Bird Horror series), but I’ve been in a quite weird mental and emotional state lately so forgive me. I’ll try to get my shit together and continue those as soon as I can. As always, thanks for reading — and please like and share this piece if you've enjoyed it. I certainly did writing it.