Movie: Nosferatu 2024

I finally ended up watching Nosferatu (2024) last night, and trust me, as a parent of a two-year-old, just finding the time and mental space to sit down with a proper horror film feels like a minor miracle. Half the time, I’m stuck in the Peppa Pig cinematic universe. But last night, I grabbed my wife’s Sony noise-canceling headphones, switched off all the lights in the living room, and put Nosferatu on the big 75-inch screen. I don’t know why, but I expected something more on the arthouse side. You know the vibe: films that are more moody monologues than actual scares, where the horror is more of a metaphor and symbolism, but light on actual scares. And since I’m not a massive fan of vampire films anyway, I had almost skipped Nosferatu when it came out. But Robert Eggers directed Nosferatu, and that alone was enough to convince me to give it a go.

And let me tell you, I was fucking scared. This is proper horror. Not cheap jump scares or over-the-top gore, but a thick, creeping dread that settles into your bones. The kind of film that makes you genuinely uneasy watching it in the dark, even in your own home. There were several moments that made me feel highly unsettled, I even thought of, stopping it and maybe I should just finish this the next day in the afternoon. But it was so gripping I just kept going. It pulls you in with this intense atmosphere and never lets go.

Nosferatu has that gothic horror and folklore beauty that Eggers does so well.  The cinematography is stunning, the sound design is unnerving in the best way, and the performances are absolutely on point. The story, atmosphere, acting, art direction it all just works. I was blown away. It’s been a long time since a big horror release has left me feeling this unsettled in a good way.

As someone who isn’t a hardcore horror fan, I can honestly say it’s been a long time since a film made me feel this way. I wasn’t just watching it, I was experiencing it. Personally, I feel like this has become an instant classic: people will still be talking about and appreciating this film 40 or 50 years from now. It’s a rare powerful horror that stays with you.

I feel like this is an instant classic, people will still be talking about and appreciating this film even 40 or 50 years from now.