5 movies that are a must watch if you loved the Nosferatu reboot by Robert Eggers

DISCLAIMER: This article reflects the author's personal opinion.

Nosferatu is a film of gothic horror. This genre has engaged its viewers with its exploration of human qualms and feelings and has always played a crucial role in literature and its storytelling. These tales use haunting metaphors and descriptions to induce terror, existential fretfulness, and oddity about the unknown.

Gothic vampire films, too, dive deep into the human psyche, excavating fears tied down to mortality, loneliness, and societal estrangement. These films, such as Nosferatu, put forth themes like yearning, deterioration, and the brittleness of humanity. These films offer a lens through which the viewers can come face to face with the much obscurer nature of themselves.

If you as a viewer were in recent times enthralled by Robert Eggers’ adaptation of a new and contemporary take on the gothic film – Nosferatu, a film that has been around for years and years, here are five must-watch films that carry a similar gothic charm.

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5 movies that are a must-watch if you loved the Nosferatu reboot by Robert Eggers:

1. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

A very obvious choice, but here is Werner Herzog’s 1979 – Nosferatu the Vampyre. It is an adaptation of the 1922 silent black and white film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, but rather this time with its own style attached to it. This 1979 film revisits the iconic Dracula story, laying the importance on the distressing existence of the vampire.

Set in the 19th century, the film follows a man named Jonathan Harker, who travels to the castle of Count Dracula to put a house on the market for him. After seeing her in a photograph, Dracula is now obsessed with Lucy, Jonathan's wife. This intense obsession he has for the woman eventually leads him to shuffle towns, carrying a plague of death and desolation.

Herzog’s film is a slow-blazing exploration of a vampire’s damnable immortality, merging unforgettable visuals along with a glum tone.

For fans of Eggers’ Nosferatu, Herzog’s take on the film is a quintessence watch, compressing the uncanny beauty and existential anxiety of the gothic film genre.

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2. Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Another must-watch if you’ve enjoyed Eggers’ take on Nosferatu is Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire, which poses a richly soul-stirring exploration of what it means to exist as a Vampire.

The film stars Tom Cruise as the charming Lestat and Brad Pitt as Louis. The film explores the emotive fee of immortality.

The film is framed as an interview with Louis in which he recalls his life across centuries as a vampire. The themes explored here once again talk about alienation, mortality/immortality, and identity, all of which are rooted deep into the structure and storytelling of the film. They are all related to Louis as he struggles to deal with him as a vampire and also the extremely knotty relationship he builds with Lestat.

Neil Jordan’s direction generates a gothic atmosphere seething with depravity. Just like Nosferatu and several other gothic films, the film explores the psyche of all of its characters, which highly reverberates with fans of the genre.

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3. Byzantium (2012)

Byzantium is another one of Neil Jordan’s films, which is a must-watch if you’ve thoroughly enjoyed Nosferatu. The film follows the story of two women, a mother-daughter duo, who find ways to face the trials thrown at them while living an immortal life in a mortal and modern world as they seem fraught by their secrets.

The film contrasts the aesthetics of a gothic horror film with much more contemporary themes along with, of course, focusing on the vampiric lore/folklore.

The cinematography of Byzantium makes it a stunning work. It is a film that is left highly unexplored but is sure to be a treat for fans who are out there looking for something gothic yet modern at the same time.

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4. Dracula (1931)

If we’re talking about a list that mentions gothic horror films you must watch and the list does not include Dracula… then are we sure we’re reading the right thing? Well, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Tod Browning’s version of Bram Stroker’s novel Dracula (something that Nosferatu is also based on) introduced its viewers to Bela Lugosi’s intimidating rendition of the Count.

The film’s aura is intensified by its outstanding cinematography and its ominous set. Everything from Dracula’s foggy estate to everything else that surrounds it, every frame within the movie lets out a feeling of obscurity and horror.

The film is undoubtedly and will always remain one of the centerpieces of gothic cinema, which influenced a whole other dimension of vampire movies that have since come along the way, including Nosferatu.

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5. The Innocents (1961)

While The Innocents is the only non-vampire film on this list, there still is quite a strong reason for it to be present here. Directed by Jack Clayton, The Innocents is truly an elemental watch if you’re into gothic literature and cinema alike. It also served the purpose of being one of the films that inspired Eggers to make Nosferatu.

An adaptation of Henry James’ novella, The Turn of the Screw, the film follows an au pair, Miss Giddens, who is now convinced that the kids named Miles and Flora are being plagued by something or someone wicked.

As the au pair slowly starts to lose her calm throughout the film, it goes on to seize the psychological anguish of the au pair, unscrambling beneath the weight of something sinister. This creates an aura that amplifies the sense of horror.

In an interview with Guests Selects on YouTube, Eggers mentioned that The Innocents played a key impact on his vision for making Nosferatu because of its focus on the intricacies of the aesthetics of the gothic genre in cinema. He says:

“I think it is one of the bests…perhaps the best gothic ghost movie ever made.”

If at all, as a watcher and as someone who enjoys this genre, and might be interested in watching The Innocents, be sure to check out The Haunting of Bly Manor – a limited series also based on The Turn of the Screw, streaming on Netflix directed by Mike Flanagan.

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To draw an end to this article, Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu revives a very important genre in the world of horror movies, that of gothic cinema. Nosferatu also refreshes and attempts to strike a chord amongst its viewers with its persistent influence to bring fear, beauty, and reflection.

The films here on this list each bring out an exceptional exploration of gothic cinema that every person who loved watching Nosferatu will love as well.

For fans who love exploring gothic films like Nosferatu, these aren’t just merely recommendations but an essential list that might increase your love for this specific form of cinema and filmmaking.