Nosferatu reviews praise queer star Lily-Rose Depp as 'magnificent ...

Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu. (Focus Features/YouTube)

The first reviews of Robert Eggers’ gothic horror Nosferatu remake have arrived, and queer The Idol actress Lily-Rose Depp is being praised as “one to watch” for her “harrowing” performance.

Eggers’ latest film, a remake of the 1922 silent movie by gay filmmaker F. W. Murnau, which is itself was an unauthorised and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s legendary novel Dracula, has been almost ten years in the making.

The film follows naive solicitor Thomas Hutter (The Menu’s Nicholas Hoult) who, in an attempt to score a promotion, agrees to travel to Transylvania in the Carpathian Mountains to meet the enigmatic Count Orlok (IT star and horror staple, Bill Skarsgård). 

Hutter’s wife Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) urges him not to make the trip, but he stands firm, leaving Ellen with his friends Friedrich and Anna Harding (played by 28 Years Later heartthrob Aaron Taylor-Johnson and non-binary Deadpool & Wolverine star Emma Corrin, respectively). 

Yet the strange Orlok is, as horror fans will be well aware by now, a terrifying vampire who has been haunting Ellen’s nightmares and sexual desires. Already a feared name in his town, he aims to bring his evil into central Europe via the German town of Wisborg, and plans on turning the centre of his infatuations, Ellen, into the victim of his bloodlust. 

Nosferatu reviews suggest Lily-Rose Depp is ‘magnificent’ in her role. (Focus Features/Youtube)

Ahead of the film arriving in cinemas later this month, the first Nosferatu reviews have praised it as one of the most “frightening horrors” in recent years, with particular praise for the “exceptional” Depp.

Writing in The Independent, film critic Clarisse Loughrey praised Depp’s “magnificent work” in the film, adding that Eggers’ adaptation is “not only a luxurious, Gothic revelation – it’s also one of the most profoundly, seductively frightening horrors in years”.

“It’s all because its terrors seem to crawl right out from our own stomachs,” Loughrey continued.

For the BBC, Nicholas Barber described Depp’s performance as a “revelation”, adding that while the Nosferatu story is one that’s been constantly re-hashed, “horror fans needn’t worry” as Eggers’ version “has its share of gruesome shocks”.

“After so many years of cool teen vampires, it’s refreshing to see a horrible old vampire again. But what really separates Eggers’ Nosferatu from the flock is how deeply it explores the images and themes of vampire lore. There aren’t many Dracula films that give you so much to sink your teeth into,” Barber added.

IGN’s Siddhant Adlakha also praises Depp – who is currently in a relationship with queer musician 070 Shake – for her “harrowing” take on the role of Ellen Hutter, describing her as having “burgeoning rage and considered physicality, ready to burst at the seams”.

“This resplendent horror remake keeps the broad strokes of these vampire legends intact, but refashions them into a terrifying, candle-lit tale of bodily autonomy – or lack thereof – that challenges previous versions of the story,” he added.

Even the more middling reviews had kind words to say about A Faithful Man actress Depp, with Tim Robey in The Telegraph declaring that she is “one to watch” and “gives the best performance”.

Similarly, in a poor two-star review The Times’ Kevin Maher suggested that in a film full of “career-low performances”, Depp is “the film’s most effective player”.

Nosferatu will be released on 25 December in the US and 3 January in the UK.

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