Note: This article contains spoilers for every version of “Nosferatu” and several “Dracula” films.
If Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” is your first introduction to the lesser-known vampire tale, you may be surprised how similar it is to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”
This vamp (played by Bill Skarsgård) also lives in a castle in remote Eastern Europe and travels to London by boat, with nearly all the same story beats as in the 1897 novel. But F. W. Murnau’s silent movie changed a few details, including character names, to avoid copyright infringement: Count Dracula is now named Count Orlok, Jonathan Harker becomes Thomas Hutter, etc.
Despite these slight alterations, Stoker’s heirs easily spotted the striking resemblance and sued. A court found in favor of the Stoker estate and ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed (Stoker died in 1912, 10 years before “Nosferatu” saw the light of day).
Fortunately for film and horror buffs, several copies were saved and the seminal silent film earned its place in cinema history.
Here’s some of the ways in which “Dracula” and “Nosferatu” differ:
As noted above, instead of Count Dracula, the monster is called Count Orlok. And the young real estate agent (now played by Nicholas Hoult) is instead named Thomas Hutter. Unlike “Dracula,” he and Ellen (who was named Mina in Stoker’s book), are married before his departure.
Ellen is played by Lily-Rose Depp in Eggers’ film and he expands her connection to Orlok from both the original silent movie, as well as Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake. Despite also being called “Nosferatu,” Herzog’s equally eerie adaptation restored Stoker’s character names so that the Harkers were once again facing off against Dracula and not Orlok.
Professor Abraham Van Helsing, who’s been played on film by actors from Peter Cushing to Anthony Hopkins, is now named Albin Eberhart von Franz. He’s played in Eggers’ film by Willem Dafoe, a self-referential bit of casting since Dafoe was Oscar-nominated for his role as Max Schreck in 2000’s “Shadow of the Vampire,” which supposes that the actor in the first “Nosferatu” film really was a vampire.
One of the most memorable aspects of the 1931 “Dracula” and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film are the beautiful, deadly trio of female vampires who feed on Jonathan Harker while he is held captive in Dracula’s castle — but Count Orlok has no brides.
And while most “Dracula” adaptations have the Count target Mina’s best friend Lucy Westenra in a series of mysterious attacks before moving on to her, Eggers’ film dispenses with that plot. Therefore, there is no “Bloofer Lady,” as the vampirized Lucy is dubbed when she’s spotted preying on young children after her death. You’ll recall the gory beheading scene in the ’92 version where Lucy (Sadie Frost)’s heartbroken fiancé (Cary Elwes) must deliver the fatal blow.
While Dracula can be killed (at least temporarily) in any number of ways, including decapitation and being staked in the heart, there’s only one way to defeat Orlok in all three film versions: The woman he desires must willingly sacrifice herself by letting him feed on her all night, convincing him to stay after the sunrise. In doing so, the monster doesn’t realize that she has lured him to his death and perishes as the sun’s light hits him.
Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” is now playing in theaters. Werner Herzog’s 1979 version is streaming on Peacock and Prime Video. The original 1922 film is streaming on several platforms including the Roku Channel.
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