Tyler-Johnson can’t act, and his out of touch melodrama speaks to a larger problem with both “Nosferatu” and Eggers’ previous film “The Northman.” Where “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse” both felt like cases of immersive historical fiction that came crashing up against genre . . .
here it’s pure genre from the start. The characters act as if they already belong to this haunted, demonic world—it’s never believable that they’re overwhelmed by some kind of literary shift in their reality. It’s melodrama from the start. And melodrama could be great, but Eggers . . .
plays it straight instead of leaning into the psychedelic and grotesque nightmare/fantasy that “The Lighthouse” and “The Witch” employ. He also relies on a few too many actors who can’t sell it. I also don’t think Eggers has much of a sense of plot, and this is definitely . . .
I completely agree. It's visually stunning but I was kind of astonished at how straight forward it was. Nicholas hoult was fine. Sadly I thought Aaron Taylor Johnson was abysmal to watch. Lily rose carried this film.
the most plot-driven of his films. By the time it nears the heights I expected from the beginning, the end credits have already dawned. I’m sure it will grow on me—“The Northman” did—but it wasn’t anywhere near the homerun I was hoping for.