#this was a trend on the dark side and you can't convince me otherwise

[rosepetalgold]

Absolutely dying over the fact that Remus not only canonically hangs out in dark closets for no apparent reason but also that Janus knows to look for him there

[godlessriffs]

As some of you may know, the original 1922 version of Nosferatu is my favorite vampire movie and one of my favorite films in general. Now they're about to drop a brand new remake of it. Now, the way I see it, any time you remake a movie, especially a classic one, it's important that the resulting film bring something worthwhile to the table. What does this new film have to say that previous versions didn't? What fresh new angle(s) does it display? What new freedom from censorship does it exploit? What weaknesses in earlier versions does it improve upon? In short, why do we need this film? In my opinion, Nosferatu got the only remake it will ever need when Werner Herzog made his version in 1979. However, I'm open to the possibility that Robert Eggers might convince me otherwise. That said...

1) Advance reviews I've seen have been uniformly positive, harping on the great story, the top notch acting, and the gorgeous visuals. I'll have to see the movie before I can form an opinion about the former two, but I have to say it: I hate the way movies look these days, especially sci-fi and dark fantasy films. Gaudy visual effects that make me wish CGI had never been invented. Horribly overprocessed cinematography that's been tweaked in post so much that even scenes with no visual effects look fake, making me wish the digital camera had never been invented. And, speaking of which, camera work that can't sit still; if it's not "cinema verite" shakycam it's the constant dollying back and forth, side to side, around this, over that, and through the other. And from what little I've seen from the trailers I don't think this film is going to break that trend.

2) I'm not sure the marketing decision to keep Bill Skarsgård's vampire makeup under wraps until the premiere was a wise one. The risk they're running is that the reveal had better be awesome or it's going to be a letdown; no middle ground is possible. The last movie I remember relying so blatantly on the "hide the monster" gambit was the Devlin/Emmerich Godzilla from 1998, and I think we all remember how that turned out.

3) I have, on the other hand, heard the clip of Skarsgård's voice as Count Orlock, and, frankly, I think it sounds absolutely ridiculous. It's like he's doing an over-the-top impersonation of Darth Sidious. Why do people think that shit sounds scary? Watch Herzog's version; Klaus Kinski came across as creepy and evil and dangerous just through his performance without any extraneous vocal affectations.