The original template-setting Nosferatu could have never seen the light of day again.

Marred by legal issues over its obvious unsolicited adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel Dracula, the 1922 film was ordered to be destroyed, its long and enduring legacy born out of the few remaining copies to survive.

It’s not out of the ordinary for a film from that era to see such a fate. Many blocks of the silent era have been wiped out, lost, poorly archived, or perished in studio lot fires. Nosferatu’s will to survive, and its staple influence as an earlier example of the horror film, have given it a certain reverence.

When modern horror maestro Robert Eggers, coming off the back of directing a string of acclaimed and beloved films like The Northman and The Lighthouse, took on a remake of such a standard-bearer, there was a sense that he had earned the right and respect to handle the sacred material.

The death of Pier Paolo Pasolini still haunts me so

And in his version’s favour, the remake is literally perfect. Every shot is composed to the inch, actors are blocked to the hilt. Its cinematography and mise-en-scène are next-level stunning, encapsulating cold gothic darkness in a way few films could dream.........

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