For centuries, Vampires have been portrayed as objects of desire, seduction and temptation. The storylines created around them draw audiences in through a desire to seek the unknown. Set in 19th-century Germany, the erotic gothic film Nosferatu (2024) starring Lily-Rose Depp is a haunting and provocative tale highlighting a repressed desire to follow temptation into the darkest parts of the mind.
Lily-Rose Depp plays Ellen Hutter, who is so uncomfortable with her loneliness and “melancholy” that she prays seeking an escape by inviting a presence into her life. The presence of Count Orlok preys upon her fear and pain while fulfilling her wish for companionship, creating a parasitic relationship.
The film follows an estate agent named Thomas Hutter, played by Nicholas Hoult, who seeks out a potential buyer for a house Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgard. Thomas leaves behind Ellen Hutter, his wife, who is experiencing vivid nightmares that picture a dark entity calling her to him. Her visions and dreams intensify as Thomas leaves for a meeting with the Count.
Despite Ellen’s desperate pleas for Thomas to stay, he leaves, making her vulnerable to the Count’s Influence. In a symbolic exchange, the Count takes Ellen’s locket and, in return, offers Thomas gold, which unknowingly seals his wife’s fate.
Had Thomas heeded her warnings, she may have survived. The tragedy lies not only in her foresight but in the irony of Thomas returning home to declare his love after essentially sacrificing her for money.
Ellen’s love for Thomas is undying. Ellen is willing to die for him, yet he prioritizes the financial opportunity. His justification for selling the house is that it’s in their best interest. This masks his true motivation: an insatiable lust for wealth.
In this context, lust is not merely a carnal desire but an obsession with material gain, blinding him to the consequences of his choice.
Her dreams become erotic and make her apprehensive about the safety of her husband and her well-being. Depp’s eerie convulsions and unsettling, almost acrobatic-like moments in her character’s moment of possession add to the film’s disturbing atmosphere.
Count Orlok’s castle is hidden away from civilization in the shadows. The Count, following the common story of vampirism, is never seen during the day yet roams the halls of his castle in the night.
His character mirrors the subconscious fears and desires that lurk beneath the characters’ minds. He encapsulates human nature’s tendency to marvel at the monstrous.
Upon Count Orlok’s arrival, he brings with him a plague. The plague signifies society’s consumption of fear, desire and the consequences of indulgence.
The film explores themes of coercion and submission through Count’s deeply coercive character. While Ellen initially seeks him out of desperation, her agency is ultimately stripped away from her. When she later pleads for him to stop tormenting her, he threatens to kill those she loves, framing her “choice” as one of life or death. Though it appears he is offering her free will, the reality is far more insidious.
He is imposing submission, not allowing it to be given freely.
The film creates a push-and-pull dynamic as Ellen oscillates between longing for the Count and repressing her desire. The Count exploits this tension, further distancing her from Thomas by claiming he chose money over her.
He exploits her pain, contributing to the film’s commentary on how women sacrifice themselves in the name of love and longing.
As the story unfolds, the film’s dark and gothic aesthetic sets the tone for the thematic elements of repression, obsession and surrender. It is a chilling reimagination of Nosferatu, challenging audiences’ ideas about the coexistence of fear and desire. For this reason, it is an incredibly intimate and psychological film.
The film begs the question: do we fear the monster or the deepest parts of our mind that are attracted to it?
