In 1838 Germany, young Thomas Hutter travels to Transylvania to sell a house to the strange Count Orlok. Back home, his wife Ellen is haunted by a bond with the vampire that began when she was a lonely girl. Robert Eggers remakes the silent classic as a candlelit nightmare, and the lighting alone is worth studying.
Nosferatu is a 2024 horror and fantasy film directed by Robert Eggers. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (1 cinematography, 2 sound and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Black Swan uses several of the same techniques.
Lighting a scene with strong contrast between bright light and deep shadow, a style borrowed from old paintings called chiaroscuro. How lit a character is hints at their moral or mental state.
How this film uses it
Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke lit scenes with real candles, and Panavision built special high-speed lenses so the camera could see in that little light. Faces glow out of deep black. Anything past the candle's reach disappears.
Where to see it
The inn where Thomas stops on his journey. A single candle lights an old woman's face, with darkness all around her.
Keeping a threat or character mostly out of view and suggesting it through sound, movement at the edge of the frame and other people's reactions. Your imagination makes it scarier than anything shown.
How this film uses it
Eggers keeps Orlok hidden for a long time. His first appearance is a silhouette lit from behind. Later shots light him from the front but frame only his hands or his eyes. Your imagination builds the rest of him.
Where to see it
Thomas meets Orlok at the castle. The count stands with light behind him, so you see a huge dark shape and little else.
Building a monster largely through how it sounds, using the actor's own altered voice, breathing or an invented language. You feel the creature's strangeness through your ears before you see it clearly.
How this film uses it
Bill Skarsgård refused to have Orlok's voice changed digitally. He trained with an opera singer to push his voice lower and worked in Mongolian throat singing. Orlok also speaks a rebuilt form of Dacian, an ancient language of the region. The voice sounds like it comes from a body that died long ago.
Where to see it
Thomas's dinner with Orlok. Thomas cuts his hand, and the count, talking from the shadows in that heavy voice, takes the locket holding a lock of Ellen's hair.
Showing the human body being changed, damaged or falling apart. The horror works because you imagine it happening to your own body, and it often stands for mental suffering.
How this film uses it
Ellen's bond with Orlok shows up in her body. She has seizures and sleepwalks, and her body bends into shapes that look painful. Blaschke filmed her worst fit in 1 unbroken take, so you can't look away to a cutaway.
Where to see it
Ellen's possession scene. Her body shakes violently and then arches backward, all in 1 continuous shot.
Questions
Nosferatu: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Nosferatu use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Nosferatu (2024): Chiaroscuro Lighting, Off-Screen Presence, Voice as Creature Design and Body Horror.
Who directed Nosferatu?
Robert Eggers directed Nosferatu, released in 2024. CineCode also covers The Witch (2015), The Lighthouse (2019), The Northman (2022).
What films are similar to Nosferatu?
Films that share techniques with Nosferatu include Black Swan (2010), The Godfather (1972), Casablanca (1942), Alien (1979).
