Not a Review Necessarily - My Nosferatu trailer reaction

The 1922 silent German expressionist vampire film "Nosferatu," directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlock, opened the horror genre to vampire movies. 

Count Orlock was the vampire before Bela Lugosi established the quintessential vampire through his depiction of Count Dracula in 1931 with his sleek black hair, alluring Central European/ Romanian accent, debonair appeal, and mysterious and sinister darkness.

Count Orlock is a demon of a vampire both inside and out.

He has an otherworldly appearance, piercing glare, emotionless and unsympathetic demeanor, and his shadow is just as menacing as his person. 

I happened to watch the original "Nosferatu" a month ago and wrote some commentary about which I'll post in October. 

A trailer for "Nosferatu," a remake set to be released Christmas of this year, dropped on Monday. 

It's the second remake of Murnau's brilliant and truly horrific foundational film. The gothic horror movie "Nosferatu the Vampyre" was released in 1979 starring Klaus Kinski as "Count Dracula." He's called that rather than "Orlock" in the movie.

In 2000, the film "Shadow of the Vampire" was released which tells the backstage story about the filming of "Nosferatu." It portrays the suspicions that the film crew had about Max Schreck based on how seriously he took his performance as the vampire. Willem Dafoe plays Schreck in that initial remake.

Willem Dafoe in the upcoming movie, "Nosferatu."

I see "Nosferatu," and maybe Dracula in general, as an allegory for the deadly sin of lust - an enticing powerful emotion that kills love and the soul in the end. It's a vice that makes slaves out of those who give into its seductive allurement, and in most instances struggle all their lives to escape it. 

What person who indulges in lust can stand the sight of a crucifix? The guilt of what the lustful person does in the cover of darkness and secrecy is heavy. The fear of being found out and their secrets being brought out and exposed outside of that darkness is a nagging feeling. But the enticement of lust is too strong and appealing to resist. 

Only the unrepentant soul will cringe at the thought of being exposed, ultimately running away from God. On the other side, the repentant will glorify God for His infinite mercy. 

I worry this remake will get it backwards and glorify the demonic and the seductive while demonizing repentance and the religious which is what the vampire fears. 

It's much too common in Hollywood these days. Perhaps that won't be the case, but I'm not holding my breath. Too many remade stories and the morals they express are often flipped upside down by the progressive minds that run Hollywood. Regressive is more like it. 

"Nosferatu" is directed by Robert Eggers who directed "The Witch" in 2015. That movie does just that. The ending depicts gleeful women being elevated above the trees by demonic forces, no longer bound by the so-called patriarchal repressive powers of the Puritan society the movie takes place in. All the modern articles of the leftwing creed are there (patriarchy and oppression and hatred for religion). His movie "The Witch" is unashamed of depicting evil as a "savior" and good as an enslaver. 

To be fair, Eggers also directed two major hits after "The Witch." That is, "Lighthouse" and "Northman." I saw "Lighthouse" and enjoyed it, though I think I need to see it again because I'm sure I missed something. 

Looking at the trailer for "Nosferatu" I recognize the same storyline from the silent movie. I think the new film will follow that storyline at least. Still, as trailers can be deceiving, I hope the new movie respects the source material - namely the 1922 movie, and Bram Stoker's novel. 

Bill Skarsgård plays Count Orlock in this new remake which isn't a bad casting choice. 

In fact, I predict this will be a winning performance from Skarsgård. He killed it (no pun intended) as Pennywise the Clown in "It" and "It: Chapter 2" directed by Andy Muschietti and based on Stephen King's novel. His performance in both of these movies elevated Skarsgård to the lofty ranks of frightening and memorable movie monsters. His Pennywise will surely stick around for decades alongside Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster, Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil, and Robert Englund's Freddy Krueger. With his boyish face and intense stare that fit Pennywise so well, I think he'll give Count Orlock that same staying power. In other words, he'll raise this vampire back into pop culture territory. I can see Skarsgård making Orlock his own.

Willem Dafoe also stars in this movie as Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz. He's a decent enough actor with a number of entertaining performances.
Nicholas Hoult will play Thomas Hutter - the Renfield of the story. Honestly, I haven't seen a Hoult performance that I found impressive. He was decent... just decent... in "Tolkien." He was well cast in "The Menu." He was boring as Renfield in "Renfield" (speaking of vampires). Basically, he's a mediocre actor from what I've seen of him so far, which includes his performances in the Marvel movies. Mediocre! So, fingers crossed he brings a decent performance.

The original "Nosferatu" is a nightmarish movie. Will this remake be scary? Maybe. There's no way it'll capture the brilliance and imagination of Murnau's film. But if modern ideologies can be left out, maybe this'll be a worthwhile remake. I can see Skarsgård carrying this entire thing on his shoulders.

I'll hold out a spark of hope that the movie will be a faithful retelling of the story. 

I get that impression from the trailer. So, I'm curious enough to see a new retelling. And stay tuned for my commentary of the silent movie this October... among another set of reviews for the Halloween season!