Warning: The following contains spoilers for 2024’s Nosferatu.Director Robert Eggers’Nosferatuis based on the original film of the same name from 1922, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’sDracula. Starring Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter,Nosferatuis proving to be an intriguing addition to the vampire genre. However, as a result of its complicated origins, all iterations of Count Orlok are inherently based on Count Dracula.
There are still some key differences between Orlok and Dracula, as well asNosferatuand Stoker’s famous novel. For instance, in the novel, Dracula is killed by being stabbed in the heart and decapitated by Jonathan Harker and Quincy Morris, something Francis FordCoppola deviated from in his film adaptation of Stoker’sDracula. The originalNosferatustrays away from this even further by depictingsunlight playing a key role in Count Orlok’s eventual demise.
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In both the original and the newestNosferatu, Count Orlok visits Ellen in her sleep. She willingly sacrifices herself to him, and Orlok feeds off of her, losing track of time just long enough for the sun to rise and kill him. Ellen is aware that doing this will cost her life, but will also bring an end to Orlok once and for all. While he dies on top of Ellen inRobert Egger’s stunningNosferaturemake, leaving behind a skeletal corpse,in the original film, Orlok vanishes into thin air, leaving behind a only puff of smoke.
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Count Orlok’s death by sunlight in the 1922Nosferatuis an original plot element not found in the novel, one of several deviations from the source material. 1922’sNosferatuis not a direct adaptation because it legally could not be, so changes were made in an attempt to avoid copyright issues. However, these changes were not enough to prevent a lawsuit, leading toNosferatubeing banned and almost destroyed completely.
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While it’s common in fiction for sunlight to be a vampire’s deadly weakness, as seen inBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Castlevania, and many other pieces of media,there is another key player in Count Orlok’s death. That is Ellen. In 2024’sNosferatu,the ancient texts claim that Orlok will die after a virtuous woman gives herself freely to him.Count Orlok will then drink her bloodall night until the sun rises and the first rooster crows.
This is exactly how Orlok dies in Eggers’Nosferatu, and it’s not just a physically painful death. Orlok is infatuated with Ellen, and he believes they are meant for one another. After all, she had opened herself up to him in the past when she was feeling desperately alone, and he saw a repressed darkness in her. When Ellen welcomes Orlok into her bed, he thinks she is submitting to him and that darkness, but that is far from the case.
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However,Ellen takes back this power and weaponizes her body to bring an end to Orlok.Count Orlok thinks he has the upper hand and has won the prize he so desperately sought after, but Ellen is not a prize, nor will she remain his victim. Instead, she is the key to his demise, and that is a massive shock and betrayal to Count Orlok inNosferatu.
Nosferatu
Cast
Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name from director F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers is crafting his own version of the story for the reboot as writer and director, with Bill Skarsgård stepping into the shoes of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the tale of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire utterly infatuated with her.
