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Nosferatu. Does this word not sound like the midnight call of the Bird of Death? Do not utter it, or the images of life will fade - into pale shadows and ghostly dreams will rise from your heart and feed your Blood.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) dir. F.W. Murnau

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Dark Passage 1947 | dir. Delmer Daves

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François Arnaud as CARDINAL CESARE BORGIA THE BORGIAS — Season 1 (2011)

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#evolution of cesare's obsession with lucrezia's neck

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“They kissed as if the universe began and ended there; as if nothing else existed but their two bodies, their two mouths, and the desire between them. Jean was breathless and there was an urgency in her she had never known before. She wanted to eat and drink this woman. Her body danced on a million points, and at the same time it felt so heavy, her desire lurching and churning like a broiling sea.” — Fiona Shaw, Tell it to the Bees (2009)

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With the knowledge of all the themes and inspirations of Robert Eggers for his adaptation of “Nosferatu” (2024), a few things are clearer.

This film isn’t only “Gothic horror”, it’s also Folk Horror, because that’s Robert Eggers “thing”. It’s also a dark fairy tale (“demon lover story”); the first song of the OST is even called “Once Upon a Time”. It’s a love letter to Eastern European cinema, too. It’s a story based on Romanian folklore, Transylvanian and Western European History, influenced by European cinema. Years on the making, alongside a team of academics and researchers.

1) Intricate, non-linear and highly symbolic storytelling

This story relies a lot on visual devices to create the narrative, inspired by “Queen of Spades” (1949) and “Vechir na Ivana Kupala” (“The Eve of Ivan Kupalo”) (1968). These are more important than dialogue, because there are many unreliable narrators in this film. Ellen and Orlok love story is represented by the lilacs (inspired by “The Innocents” (1961), where the willow tree was connected to the ghost couple) and windows (strigoi folklore and “Wuthering Heighgs” inspiration).

Orlok true nature is revealed on his iconography: sigil and coat of arms; he’s a Pagan worshipper of ancient Dacian god Zalmoxis; but was demonized as a “devil worshipper” by Christianity (as every Pagan religion in Europe was). He was deemed unworthy of entering Zalmoxis kingdom, but was only cursed to become a strigoi when Ellen awoke him, at the beginning of the film (he had been dead for centuries). Why? Related to his backstory. In Romanian folklore, strigoi haunt their loved ones, they want to relive their life together. Which indicates Ellen is possibly a reincarnation of the woman Orlok loved in life, which explains the covenant of them being together in spiritual world forever, and the “Svengali” (1931) inspiration.

2) Who is the true villain of this film?

At first glance, it’s Orlok. If we look deeper into the inspiration of “Leptirica” (“The She-Butterfly”) (1973) and strigoi folklore, it’s Ellen; she’s the one who unleashes Orlok. She also has a premonition Thomas will be sent away and looks at the window (Orlok). Then, she cuts a strand of her hair and puts it on a locket and it appears it’s meant to Thomas, but the visual subtext tells a different story: she knows Thomas will be sent to Orlok, and her strand of hair smells of lilacs; a scent Orlok later recognizes, and uses the locket to have access to her again. We also see Ellen at the beach, on the shore, while communicating with him. Later, Orlok arrives at Wisburg. She opens the window for him to access the Harding household, and then to her own house, on the “third night”. Ellen is the one who gives Orlok access to places (rooted in strigoi folklore, the “vampires need to be invited in” lore); she’s the one who calls for him throughout the film, which is why Lily-Rose Depp said she’s the one calling the shots in the film.

But, Ellen is described as the only heroic character by Robert Eggers, so she can’t be the real villain of the film. Nevertheless, she’s seen as a “monster” by society, as well; her supernatural gifts are medicalized as “hysteria”, and she needs to be contained with drugs and restraining devices (corsets; tied to the bed). When she’s communicating with Orlok in what Victorian doctors call “epilepsies”, she’s knocked unconscious with drugs, she’s tied to the bed, and her corset is tightened, increasing more control over her (literally and metaphorically), attempting to break her trance mediumship (her nature, her sexuality).

The true villain of the story is Christian Victorian society; with its norms, expectations and doctors; “Wuthering Heights” and “Great Expectations” (1949) inspiration. The society that medicalizes the protagonist, and labels her “mad”, “child” and “a creature” (like Von Franz calls her). The same Christianity that demonizes Orlok, is the same which demonizes Ellen. The “modern world” (19th century) has no place for them, they both belong to Pagan times.

3) Love vs. Sex

Now, we have to talk about love. What is love in this film? It’s the Victorian ideal presented in “The Innocents” (1961) dichotomy: love is Christian, pure, sacred, virginal, innocent, overprotective vs. sex, which is wickedness, sickness, shameful; contagious; corruptive, and, yes, demonic. It’s the occult meaning, too. And these two things (love and sex) are deemed as opposites in Victorian society, specially when women are concerned (because women don’t know nor have nor can aspire to have/know sexual pleasure). And this “love” is also connected to “heart”, which is another theme in this film; Ellen connects her heart to Thomas and Anna.

Anna and Thomas love Ellen. How is this love shown? By dismissing her concerns as “fancies” and pretending they don’t exist (consequence of her medicalization), and by calling the doctors to deal with her. Like Robert Eggers said; they don’t and can’t understand Ellen, and are dismissive of her. The “Great Expectations” (1946) inspiration is seen in Thomas desire to become like his wealthy friend, Friedrich Harding, as he aspires to climb the social ladder and be a gentleman, which means, symbolically, to transform Ellen into Anna, a perfect Victorian lady, which means to be an ideal/model of purity, chastity, sophistication and modesty. The opposite of what Ellen wants, as we see her being consumed by her corset until she tries to be break free of it during her scene with Thomas, to make him understand. But he doesn’t, because he can’t, he’s too wrapped up in social convention, and so his reaction is to call for the doctor to handle her. And she promises she’ll be good, she’ll contain her nature, like Friedrich Harding told her earlier, she’ll “find the dignity to display the respect for [her] caretaker” aka her husband, she’ll be a good and decent Victorian wife. Because women were supposed to be submissive to their husbands; to the husband that owns them. And so Thomas exerts his dominance and possession over Ellen when she tells him he could never please her like Orlok. Friedrich rapes his dead wife corpse; the ultimate symbol of women as ownership of their husbands in the Victorian era.

It soon becomes clear this “love” is connected to Ellen’s medicalization and to Victorian society itself. Ellen’s love of Thomas is overbearing protection and melodrama, also influenced by the protagonist of “The Innocents” (1961) love for the children she was hired as governess. But this “love” is also paranoid and suffocating, leading to tragedy. She clings on to Thomas not to escape Orlok (because she keeps inviting him in), but to escape herself, her own darkness and to contain her sexuality within the social accepting frame of marriage.

And so, no, Orlok cannot love… like this. Because he’s the opposite of medicalization and Victorian society; he’s the Pagan sorcerer, he’s sex, and he’s death. As a consequence he’s everything Victorian society deems female sexuality to be: wickedness, sickness, shameful, and corruptive, a infectious plague upon the world. Because sobrenatural creatures are always archetypes and metaphors in Gothic horror.

4) Breaking the Curse

At the surface, Orlok is a strigoi doing strigoi things; or a beastly Heathcliff taking revenge on Catherine/Ellen because she chose Edgar/Thomas instead of him. Symbolically, he’s taking revenge on the society that medicalizes and ostracizes Ellen; as he kills every archetype of “Victorian idealized role model” in the narrative, namely the Hardings. Like “Leptirica” (“The She-Butterfly”) (1973), “Nosferatu” (2024) has a folklore vampire, whose real appearance is slowly revealed to the audience.

But that’s not all that Orlok is; like the Bête (Beast) in “La Belle et la Bête” (“Beauty and the Beast”) (1946), he’s a cursed creature, and his curse is being a strigoi, a vampyr, a Nosferatu. A curse Ellen created when she awoke him with her summoning prayer. And a curse for which Orlok knows the “cure”, because the answer is in the Şolomonari codex of secrets (which Von Franz finds on Herr Knock’s office):

“And so the maiden fair did offer up her love unto the beast, and with him lay in close embrace until first cockcrow, her willing sacrifice thus broke the curse and freed them from the plague of Nosferatu.”

Here the “La Belle et la Bête” (“Beauty and the Beast”) (1946) inspiration is obvious: Orlok is a cursed beast whose curse can only be broken by a woman’s love. And that’s what he wants, and what he seeks. Like Bête with Belle, Orlok also gives Ellen a countdown to accept him or else someone is dying. And like “La Belle et la Bête”, Ellen only accepts Orlok when the men are conspiring to have him killed. And she says to Von Franz she has to be the one to stop Orlok, even though the professor never shared what he learned from the Şolomonari book with her, and only encourages her to be true to her nature.

She accepts Orlok’s covenant (“you shall be one with me ever-eternally”), fully aware of everything it implies, because it has to be a willing sacrifice from her part. And the threat of his destruction convinced her, because her soul isn’t the only thing Ellen is giving to Orlok during their “wicked wedding”; she’s giving him her heart, metaphorically and literally, as he’ll feed of her heart’s blood. And they both know they will die, because death is a requirement of their covenant (“you are not for the living”). Inspired by “Wuthering Heights” and “Svengali” (1931); Ellen and Orlok could never be together in life, are united in death, and reunited in the spiritual world, forever. And Von Franz confirms to the audience: Ellen’s love broke Orlok’s curse and freed them (both) from Nosferatu, as he places their lilacs around their embraced bodies. And that’s the love story at the end.

Robert Eggers went with the “Leptirica” (“The She-Butterfly”) (1973) inspiration here: a new and completely original ending to a cult classic. Because Eggers wanted the “vengeance” he talked about when discussing the ending. The vindication of sexualized female characters in Gothic literature, especially in “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. Ellen, the sexualized character who embraced the monster (herself/Orlok/sexuality) is the one who saves the day, but she also dies in the physical realm because Victorian society believes she deserves to be punished by her sin.

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GHOST APPLES - ice formations formed by freezing rain coating the apples. The rotten apple inside falls out of the bottom of the ice spheres, leaving them perfectly translucent.

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Medieval armor from the 16th century

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the tides of fate are flowing ࿐ ࿔

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haladriel moments: 38/∞

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Relieved to find that I'm not the only one because he isn't that's ugly to me and I was starting to worry about my judgment and eyesight

Looking at Orlok in HD and aside from the obvious signs that he is, well, dead, I don't really see how he is 'oh so ugly'. Overall he is a pretty handsome dead fella with a nice bone structure.

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If Orlok's mustache has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Orlok's mustache has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Orlok's mustache has only one fan then that is me. If Orlok's mustache has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Orlok's mustache, then I am against the world.

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Mind you, both Ellen and the professor are associated with cats while Orlok is associated and surrendered by rats

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as part of trying to have a better relationship with my body I'm trying to not think of the uterus as evil like this:

but rather as trying it's best while being a bit useless, like this:

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EVER AFTER: A CINDERELLA STORY (1998)

dir. andy tennant