Rating - 8.6:
Overall, a very good horror movie that establishes Robert Eggers as an auteur in the genre as he remakes a horror classic with his vision.
Direction - Very Good:
The direction on a macroscale feels very grand, with a gothic aesthetic that pays homage to the original story; His direction on a grand scale shows how he is truly an auteur in the horror genre; The direction on a microscale is good, as it brings the most out of these actors and helps establish the gothic, European scene; The storytelling is very good, as he uses tension to move the story forward, as you are on the edge of your seat to see what happens next; He builds tension masterfully, as the whole movie relies on tension to bring out the horror elements and move the story forward
Story - Good:
The concept is a remake of the silent film classic Nosferatu, an unofficial adaptation of Dracula; The plot structure is pretty standard, though the movie does drag at some moments and the build to the climax was a bit boring; The character writing is very good as they do a good job bringing to life these classic characters
Screenplay - Good to Very Good:
The dialogue is polished and very Gothic and true to the time period; The foreshadowing is very good, as the movie uses roots planted throughout to help close the movie in the end
Acting - Good to Very Good:
Bill Skarsgård - Pretty Good to Good (Plays a menacing Count Orlok well in a way unique to previous interpretations; It took a while for me to get used to it but I stuck the landing in the end), Nicholas Hoult - Good (Carries the movie well and feels polished in showing his range), Lily-Rose Depp - Very Good to Great (A true scream queen, as she shows a wide range of emotions to show the distraught of her experience; she has very good chemistry with the rest of the cast; it really feels like Eggers' muse when making this movie), Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Decent to Pretty Good (It feels like he is hitting a limit in his acting as he does not match the level of his other castmates; but he holds his own), Emma Corrin - Pretty Good (Plays her role well), Willem Dafoe - Good (A very typical Willem Dafoe performance;), Simon McBurney - Very Good (It really shows the demented nature of the character as he will do anything for Count Orlok), Rest of the cast - Good (This movie is more about the main cast, but the cast as a whole really feels like they did their job in making this an engaging experience)
Score - Good:
Used very well to build tension;
Cinematography - Great:
Helps make this movie feel both gothic yet auteur-esque to Eggers' vision
Editing - Very Good:
Helps make this movie feel polished; helps establish the tension and horror elements
Sound - Very Good:
Helps build tension and make this a horrifying movie; Might have just been my Dolby Cinema theater, but the subwoofers under the seat made this movie feel like a 4D experience
Visual Effects - Very Good:
Helped make this movie feel genuinely scary and grotesque;
Production Design - Great:
Helped create this Gothic landscape that brings to life the time period and Orlok's castle
Makeup - Incredible:
It really brings to life Count Orlok and the horror elements with the blood
Costumes - Great:
Helps bring to life the time period and paint Count Orlok
Pacing - Pacing is fine for the most part, but feels a bit slow at some moments; Maybe 15-20 minutes could have been cut to keep the pace consistent
Climax - Climax is good as it brings together all of that tension; The build to the climax dragged a bit as it was a bit boring
Tone - Tone is very Gothic horror;
Final Notes - My experience in Dolby Cinema felt like a 4D experience, with the subwoofer blasting the sound.
