Nosferatu is now playing in theaters and, along with Count Orlok's unforgettable new look, the movie's ending is generating a great deal of discussion among horror fans.
In the original 1922 classic, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, Ellen Hutter learns that only a pure-hearted woman can destroy a vampire. She must freely offer her blood to the monster and only then can it be killed. After she lures Count Orlok into her home, he feeds on Ellen in her bed and is so distracted that, when the sun rises, he's left with no time to hide and is destroyed in a puff of smoke. Ellen dies from her wounds.
In Robert Eggers' Nosferatu, armed with Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz's knowledge, Ellen once again decides to enact a plan that will kill the monster she inadvertently brought into her life as a child when she called out for a guardian angel. Unfortunately, that opened the door to a supernatural evil and created a seemingly unbreakable connection with Orlok.
Once again, the vampire feeds on her and dies when the sun rises. However, the Count collapses and perishes on top of Ellen rather than vanishing, though she does get to see Thomas Hutter one final time before dying.
Talking to SYFY Insider, Eggers said that the sight of their entangled bodies was his nod to the Renaissance era "Death and the Maiden" motif.
"There is not a specific 'Death and the Maiden' painting, or engraving that this it's based on," he explained. "But it's a motif that's been done so well, so many times in our history that it was fun to try our hand at it."
"Exactly that pose was something that was very considered," he continued. "[Cinematographer] Jarin Blaschke and I designed all the shots. We worked with a storyboard artist to draw the shots. But that is one that I drew myself, very, very specifically. Lily-Rose Depp has this doll-like face, and Bill's makeup is so severe, it really is such a nice contrast."
For Ellen actor Lily-Rose Depp, Ellen's sacrifice in this version of Nosferatu is both tragic and empowering (particularly as this version of the character saves the world by killing Orlok).
"What's so beautiful about the place that my character ends up is that it's tragic, and it is empowering," she revealed. "There's so much power in the choice that she makes, and yet it's a heartbreaking end. But I think she is plagued with the feeling that she brings so much darkness everywhere that she goes, that [being] able to do a good deed and feel that she's bringing light, actually, to the world is a beautiful thing."
And for those of you wondering, no, Nosferatu doesn't have a post-credits scene!
A new take on F. W. Murnau's 1922 version and Werner Herzog's take in 1979, Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
Written for the screen and directed by Robert Eggers, Nosferatu stars Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney and Willem Dafoe.
Nosferatu is now playing in theaters.