.png "Art Card by Samantha Sopeña") |
| Art Card by Samantha Sopeña |
TW: spoilers, mentions of SA.
A classic staple in the horror genre, Nosferatu is recognized as one of the building blocks for vampirism that we have — a pillar for our storytelling of the occult and the supernatural. The original film in 1922 was an unofficial (unauthorized) adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and when we got the American remake last 2024, many horror fans worldwide were reinvigorated and were more than satisfied with the output.
I came into the movie thinking I’d be getting two things: one, a commentary on women’s sexuality and empowerment, and two, a love story that transcended societal norms. Many fans online raved about how the film was brave for being as graphically sexual as it was, and many of the opinions online focused on the “love story” aspect between Ellen and Count Orlok’s relationship.
However, throughout my watch and by the film's end, I’d gotten a different perspective of what Nosferatu was about.
Focusing on the taboo of supernatural romance and on how the film was so open in portraying the sexual nature of the story is what led many to believe that Ellen and Count Orlok’s dynamic was that of love. It’s an understandable conclusion to make; seeing the characters’ magnetism towards one another take form in near-obsession and sexual longing is a recipe for an intense love story, especially as it mixes with the supernatural. The intrigue of the supernatural has always been able to elevate the human experience of love, as it always shows how far love can go.
But because it’s in the mere taboo-ness of the pairing where most of the focus is placed, it’s become easier to go over the dialogue and the actual nuances of the characters in the film. And what does the dialogue tell us? What do the nuances tell us?
From the dialogue alone — Ellen telling the Count directly “You are a deceiver”, “You cannot love”, “I was but an innocent child” — we see how Ellen wanted no part of her relationship with Count Orlok. Her thoughts, her fears — whether voiced or kept inside, are all about how she is so desperate to escape Count Orlok’s hold on her, and what he did to her when she was young. When she faces Count Orlok, all of Ellen’s dialogues are meant to rebuke his “seduction” — as Orlok tries to entice Ellen, saying “Remember how we once were. For a moment. Remember?”, Ellen immediately replies with “I abhor you”. From the dialogue alone, it’s enough to conclude that their relationship is actually not one of mutual romance, but is one leaning more on abuse.
Nosferatu is not the liberating, monster romance many people online made it out to be. It’s not just a gothic, sexy film about being entangled with a vampire.
Nosferatu is a tragedy, one built on sexual abuse, that explores how love can transcend even through such harrowing experiences.
This is more substantiated when we see how Ellen tried her best to move on with her life after being sexually assaulted (as seen in the opening scene). When she grows older, she marries Thomas Hutter — the love of her life, and she thinks she’s moved past her traumas because of their shared love. But even then, she can’t escape Count Orlok and his “mark” on her. Throughout the film, Ellen is plagued with night terrors and visions of Count Orlok coming after her, to which she is helpless.
Her experience, and Count Orlok’s unforgiving clutch, lead Ellen to believe that she’s impure. And for a time of great propriety, it torments Ellen to the point that her inner conflict manifests in her relationship — especially with Thomas. At one point, Ellen desperately clings to her husband, believing him to be so singular because how could he love someone so tainted like her?, but at another point, Ellen completely drives him away because she believes he doesn’t deserve someone as impure as her. At her highest, she sees her marriage to Thomas as a cleansing light for her “sinful” past, but at her lowest, she resents Thomas for his actions that left her alone to deal with everything else — even if it was in the name of building a better life for her.
The film progresses with Count Orlok ceaselessly pursuing Ellen, and Ellen’s entourage looking for the means to stop Orlok’s plague. Despite her “afflictions”, Ellen tries her best to shield her friend, Anna, from Orlok’s grasp. But tragedy strikes continuously, and eventually, everything boils down to Ellen. Ellen alone has the power to stop Orlok’s plague, and Ellen, for all her fears and her love, chooses to sacrifice herself to Count Orlok for the town’s salvation.
If the message of the film is that love transcends even the worst experiences, as I’d mentioned before, are we then to be content with the idea that “love saves all”, after everything that Ellen fought through? Are we to settle with the conclusion that it is because of her love for Thomas, for her friend Anna, that she was able to gather the strength to face off Count Orlok?
Maybe, but it can be more than that.
We can see the greatness of love in Ellen’s sacrifice, but we can also see the greatness of love in Thomas’ devotion.
Ellen saw Thomas as a figure of unwavering love; she saw him as her salvation. In spite of Ellen’s past, he still loved her completely and remained devoted to her all throughout the film. And as much as Ellen’s love for Thomas was rooted in her desperation for the light, Thomas’ love for Ellen was simply pure. He uprooted himself from their married bliss just to be given the chance to provide Ellen with the world through his work. The many attempts on Thomas’ life were miniscule in the grand picture of his dedication to being reunited with Ellen. When he knew of Count Orlok’s design for Ellen, he stopped at nothing to protect his wife.
Even when the last blow came, as he witnessed the sacrifice Ellen made for them all, he still held Ellen dearly to him as he did the first time. No sight of anyone or anything else, just his wife as he lamented his loss and saw for the last time the lengths their love went through.
It’s a helpless ending to a tragic beginning. But it shows us, perfectly, and on all sides of a story, how love transcends through everything.
This, I think, is the ultimate romance of Nosferatu — a love story built on pain and heartbreak, mended by the strength and devotion of two people in a simple marriage.
‘Til death do they part.
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