# Nosferatu (2023 film)

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is a 2023 American gothic horror film directed by David Lee Fisher. It premiered at the Emagine Theater in Novi, Michigan on November 11, 2023, prior to being released on video on demand via Amazon Prime Video in September 2024 and on Apple TV on 18 October 2024.
The film is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same title, which in-turn is a loose adaptation of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It stars Doug Jones as Count Orlok, a vampire who terrorises the fictional town of Wisbourg, Germany to torment a young woman.

## Plot

In the German town of Wisbourg, Thomas Hutter is hired to sell property to a reclusive Transylvanian nobleman, Count Orlok, by bewitched estate agent Herr Knock. He travels at the protestation of his wife Ellen, who moves in with their friends Wolfram and Ruth during his travels, concurrently plagued by nightmares. On his journey, Thomas encounters villagers who bid him not to go to Orlok's castle. He comes across an old tome describing the "Nosferatu", a vampire spawned from Belial.
Thomas arrives at the castle and is met by Orlok. While they dine and discuss Orlok's admission into his new property, Orlok attempts to drink from Thomas's thumb as he cuts it on a breadknife. Thomas becomes unconscious and awakes with a bite on his neck, which he initially attributes to insects. Orlok becomes obsessed with a photograph of Ellen and remarks she has "a pretty neck". In Wisbourg, Knock becomes violently manic after reading cabalistic writings from Orlok and is admitted to an asylum. Ruth attempts to seduce Ellen. Ellen sleepwalks as she is telepathically terrorised by Orlok. Thomas deduces that Orlok is a vampire and escapes the castle, becoming addled and sheltering in a hospital. Orlok stows away on a ship bound for the city, spreading a plague among the crew and bringing it to Wisbourg. Knock escapes from his cell, ecstatic about Orlok's arrival.
Thomas returns to Wisbourg to find that Wisbourg is under quarantine. Ruth dies off-screen from the infection and the townspeople accuse Knock, who has become insane. Thomas and Ellen, both tormented by Orlok, agree that they must stop Orlok. Ellen privately reads from the tome about Nosferatu, and learnes that he can be defeated by a willing sacrifice. Ellen feigns sickness, prompting Thomas to call upon Professor Bulwer, during which they witness Wolfram murdering Knock. Ellen submits to Orlok; unwilling to resist her innocent blood, Orlok feeds until he is disintegrated by the rising sun. Thomas returns to find Ellen dead, having sacrificed herself to end the plague. Thomas makes plans to leave Wisbourg forever.

## Cast

* Doug Jones as Count Orlok/Nosferatu
* Sarah Carter as Ellen Hutter
* Emrhys Cooper as Thomas Hutter
* Joely Fisher as Ruth
* Eddie Allen (credited as Edgar Allen Poe) as Knock

## Production

The film entered production after being successfully funded on Kickstarter on 3 December 2014. On 13 April 2016, it was reported that Doug Jones had been cast as Count Orlok in the film and that filming had begun. About 50-60 percent of the movie used green screen to insert colorized backgrounds from the original film behind the actors, a technique Fisher had previously used for his remake The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005).

## Release

After several years with no updates as to the status of the film, Nosferatu premiered at the Emagine Theater in Novi in November 2023. It was later released on video on demand via Amazon Prime Video in September 2024 and on Apple TV on 18 October 2024.

## Reception

The film received mixed reviews, though Jones' performance as Count Orlok was widely praised.