Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu (2024) inspired a strongly negative reaction in me. But it was a reaction that arose from a tangle of mixed feelings. I’ve continued to circle and reconsider my take on the movie—not only because my network of friends and amateur critics largely seem to have enjoyed it—but also because of the particular subject matter and style on display.
In many ways, Nosferatu is not only the kind of movie I could see myself making; it’s the movie I’d be worried that I’d make: something that others with shared sensibilities would clock as phony, pseudo-intellectual, and out of its depth.
I understand what people are responding to in Nosferatu, and it brings me no pleasure to criticize it so harshly. For a while, I questioned whether I should even do the video, as I’d much rather spent time studying work that I find interesting and enjoyable. It’s actually not much fun explaining what you don’t like about something.
I hope the criticisms I’ve offered will come across as minimally thoughtful and respectful, even where I refrain from pulling punches.
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