If you’re a horror movie aficionado, you’ve probably been looking forward to Robert Eggers’ newly released Nosferatu remake for years. The film (which finally released in theaters on Christmas Day) serves as a retelling of the 1922 classic of the same name that has shocked audiences with its terrifying imagery and powerful characters for over a century. Despite the updated and highly stylized look of Nosferatu, the film is unmistakably a period piece, meaning some of the complex nuances of the narrative might have flown right over the heads of modern American audiences. So, whether you’re trying to make sense of the film so you can finally get some sleep after watching the fright-fest, or simply looking to parse through the ending for more clarity, we’ve got you covered, with a guide to Nosferatu‘s plot, characters and ending.
Unpacking the Haunting Plot of ‘Nosferatu’
Much like the 1922 original, Nosferatu opens with a young couple named Ellen and Thomas Hutter. Ellen is kind but stricken with anxiety and claims to have premonitions of a terrifying future that haunt her waking thoughts. Despite Ellen pleading with Thomas not to go, he agrees to meet with a mysterious aristocrat named Count Orlok after his boss offers him a hefty commission for selling the Count a dilapidated mansion. As he departs, Ellen gives Thomas a lock of her hair and Thomas sends for his wealthy friend to look after her in his absence. Once Thomas arrives in Transylvania to meet the Count, he quickly learns that something is amiss, as the local peasants shun him for associating with the oligarch. He also witnesses some disturbing imagery in the night, as the locals claim to hunt vampires.
Things only get worse from there, as Thomas falls extremely ill during travel. By the time he gets to Orlok’s abode, he’s practically knocking on death’s door. Though the Count seems overly eager to get finalize the sale, he insists on hosting Thomas until he’s fully healed. His intentions are made clear, however, when Thomas cuts himself with a bread knife by accident, inspiring the Count to hypnotize him and consume his blood. The following evening, Orlok pilfers the locket containing Ellen’s hair, signaling that he has become infatuated with the young woman from afar. He also wakes Thomas amid a harrowing nightmare and demands that he sign an occult document while the man is hardly cognizant.
Thomas’ Escape and Orlok’s Pursuit
One night, after stumbling upon the Count asleep in a gothic coffin, Thomas attempts to kill him, replicating the vampire slaying technique he witnessed in town. Just as he thrusts the pick toward Orlok’s chest, however, the beast lunges forward, attacking Thomas and pursuing him through the halls as he makes his escape. Thomas narrowly avoids his attacker and a pack of wolves released by the Count, leaping out a window into the crashing waves below. After washing up in a nearby riverbed the following day, Thomas is nursed to health by a group of nuns before continuing to work his way home on foot. Unfortunately for the townsfolk, Thomas doesn’t make this trip alone, as the Count has sealed himself in a sarcophagus and loaded himself onto a boat, flanked with an army of plague-ridden rats.
By the time Orlok washes ashore, the entire crew of the boat has succumbed to the plague. The evil vampire then sets the rats loose upon the population of the town, just as Thomas returns on horseback. Ellen reveals that the Count, AKA Nosferatu, has been communicating with her telepathically, demanding that she relinquish her flesh to the forces of evil in a satanic sexual ritual. Thomas’ associate Wilhelm Sievers recruits an occultist professor named Albin Eberhard Von Franz to make sense of all this. The professor surmises that Ellen has a deep connection to Nosferatu’s inherent darkness and that the only way to stop the creature is to locate his coffin during the daytime and expose him to the sun. The gang will need to work fast, however, as Orlok has already cursed Ellen, telling her that she has three nights to submit to his will.
Orlok’s Connection With Ellen Runs Deep
As Orlok wreaks havoc on the village with his rats, Thomas explains that he feels responsible for the vampire’s arrival. Ellen regretfully quells his guilt, however, by revealing the true nature of her relationship with the Count. When she was a very young girl, she made a covenant with the forces of evil, answering a call to darkness that came from deep within her very being. Ellen’s allure drew Nosferatu to the town, and Thomas was nothing but a pawn all along. The couple even discover that Thomas’ boss was aware of the scheme from the beginning, and tricked Thomas into venturing to Orlok’s manor intentionally. Von Franz states that the only way to lure the beast out of hiding is to use Ellen as live bait, though Thomas soon realizes that even the professor himself is working for the Count, trying to separate him from his wife.
By the time Thomas sees the truth, it’s already too late. He rushes home to find that Ellen and Nosferatu have engaged in a satanic ritual of sex and bloodlust. Clad in a white gown, she takes Orlok as her lover, even as she claims to truly be in love with Thomas. Orlok further reveals the inherent darkness of Ellen’s soul when he explains, “Love is inferior to you… You are not of humankind.” Despite her twisted nature, Ellen uses her final breaths to ensnare the Count in a wicked grasp, forcing him to remain trapped in her arms until the sun rises, killing him instantly and shattering the curse. Ellen dies of blood loss as the beast returns to his inanimate form. As the light drains from her eyes, Thomas takes her hand, allowing the couple to share a final moment before the credits roll on the haunting movie.
How Does ‘Nosferatu’ (2024) Compare To Previous Iterations?
The new adaptation of Nosferatu is one of the most visually impressive and terrifying versions of the centuries-old IP ever depicted on the screen. Though Robert Eggers and his team took great care to weave in many callbacks to previous versions throughout the runtime of the film, this outing also has many distinctions that make it unique and timeless. The overall plot is largely the same as the 1922 original, and certain lines of dialogue are lifted directly from the subtitle cards of the silent film. In contrast, however, Ellen is a much more hands-on protagonist, with a significantly larger role than a simple damsel in distress. In 2024’s Nosferatu, Ellen is the driving force of the entire plot, loathe as she would be to admit it.
In a way, this film seems to be the culmination of each of Eggers’ previous outings thus far. Nosferatu weaves in the communion of occult rituals through young impressionable women like in 2015’s The Witch, harrowing scenes of psychological torment like those shown in 2019’s The Lighthouse and a stacked cast of A-list talent forming like the Avengers to deliver a shocking period piece like in 2022’s The Northman. Whether you’re a fan of Eggers’ filmography or not, it’s hard to deny just how atmospheric, powerful and downright skin-crawling this dramatic horror film turned out to be.
