The following contains spoilers for Nosferatu.the end of Nosferatu, Ellen marries Count Orlok and s him in death.
In an interview with USA Today, Skarsgård, Eggers, and Depp discuss Nosferatu's shocking ending. Skarsgård points out the movie walks the fine line between telling "a very heightened fairy tale/dark story" and love, so the ending plays around the idea of danger and desire. He wouldn't call the "craving" between Ellen and Orlok love, but it's the closest thing to "relate to." While reading the script, Skarsgård noted the finale as "death and ecstasy," where Orlok is "mesmerized" by the sun and fearing it at the same time. Check out what he said below:
Skarsgård: I want people to go, ‘Is he going to bite her face off?’ And then it turns into a kiss. [Nosferatu is] a very heightened fairy tale/dark story, but also it's two people potentially falling in love. It isn't love, it's something else, but love is maybe the closest thing to it that you can kind of relate to. If it's not love, it's a craving and it's an appetite and it's lust and desire to devour.
[Orlok is] seeing the sun for the first time in hundreds of years. So he's mesmerized by it and fear and all of these different things. And in a way, maybe that is what Orlok wanted all along.
Eggers explains that Ellen is "the maiden" to Nosferatu's "death," which is a popular motif in art history. The director draws attention to the contrast in the last scene, where Nosferatu lies as a skeleton on top of Ellen, who's as precious as a doll. Check out what he said below:
Eggers: When you see Lily-Rose looking like a doll and Bill looking like a skull with a mustache, it's a powerful contrast.
Depp stresses that there's "real sensuality and real desire" between Ellen and Count Orlok. At the same time, she's "repulsed by him and petrified and horrified," which makes their connection much more intense and the ending "heartbreaking" and "bittersweet." Check out what she said below:
Depp: [We want] real sensuality and real desire, which makes the scenes all the more engaging and scary. This young woman is repulsed by him and petrified and horrified, but at the same time, there is a longing there. [The end scene is] heartbreaking and kind of bittersweet in a way because she's doing a good deed and she's breaking the curse, but she's also indulging in a dark desire that she has. We wanted all of those things to be palpable, to feel real.
What Their Comment Means For Nosferatu 2024 Remake
Count Orlok & Ellen's Connection Is The Main Theme
At the end of Eggers' 2024 movie, Ellen pledges herself to Count Orlok by saying the sacred oath and consummating the marriage. Orlok drinks Ellen's blood till the morning and perishes in the sunlight. The shocking ending sees Orlok dying in Ellen's embrace while she's drained of blood but smiling, which significantly diverges from the 1922 movie, where Orlok crouches over her to drink her blood, both fully clothed.
Where To Watch Nosferatu On Streaming
Nosferatu is a highly acclaimed new movie that has arrived on streaming. Here's where you can watch it, as well as where to rent and buy it.
The changes in the 2024 remake add more intimacy and nuances between the Nosferatu characters to elaborate on the very complicated connection between Orlok and Ellen. Depp and Skarsgård's comments touch on the contradictions and intense horror and romance elements in the movie, while Eggers' comment sheds light on how their performances are tied to the idea of "death and the maiden," which is the film's theme. Their comments also give insight into how the film's ending may have revealed Nosferatu's endgame and true intention, which is pure instead of evil.
Our Take On Nosferatu's Ending
A Perfect Ending To A Romantic Horror
Nosferatu leaves viewers on a horrifying but beautiful note. Ellen fulfills her oath by ing the terrifying Count Orlok in death. She sacrifices herself and saves many others, but it seems that Ellen also satisfies her most intense desires in the process. Before the third and last night, there's distance and an increasing level of horror between the two every time Nosferatu reaches out to Ellen. Despite the threat of death and nightmares, Ellen has no fear of Nosferatu when they finally meet in person. It's even more shocking when Nosferatu indulges himself in physical pleasure.
The convincing performances from the cast are what makes the latest Eggers film so haunting, as noted in Screen Rant's review for Nosferatu, which praised the film as "a stunning gothic horror remake that puts terror back into vampire lore." Not only is the love connection between the vampire and the woman who called upon him intricately explored, but the film also goes back to the basics by shooting scenes with real mouses, candlelights, and castles.
Source: USA Today
Nosferatu
- Release Date
- December 25, 2024
- Runtime
- 132 Minutes
- Director
- Robert Eggers
- Writers
- Robert Eggers
Cast
Count Orlok
Lily-Rose DeppEllen Hutter
Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name from director F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers is crafting his own version of the story for the reboot as writer and director, with Bill Skarsgård stepping into the shoes of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the tale of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire utterly infatuated with her.
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Studio(s)
- Regency Enterprises, 1492 Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Focus Features, Universal Pictures
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