Count Orlok Is Scary Because Hes a Metaphor, Not Because Hes a Vampire!
Beyond Orloks disturbing creature design, he is so frightening to the audience due to Depps visceral performance.
Depp lurches into seizures, bends backward in a movestraight out ofThe Exorcist, and rolls her eyes back.
Image by Jefferson Chacon
When speaking to Thomas about how she came to know Orlok, Ellen describes the Count as her shame.
Count Orlok in Eggers' film may not resemble what audiences saw in the 1922 version.
Nosferatuis based onDracula, a Victorian-era story when female desire was shameful.
In every scene, Eggers reminds his viewers how Ellen is tormented by Orlok.
For two hours, Ellens symptoms have been chalked up to missing her husband or menstruation.
When she confronts Orlok, she is also confronting the root cause of her suffering.
Horror has long sought to poke and prod at what makes a viewer uncomfortable.
The ending may not be a stand-up-and-cheer moment, but the relief is powerful.
Nosferatuis in theaters now.
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