Content Warning: Some minor spoilers for the 2024 film “Nosferatu.” Also, this movie is violent as hell.

On the last day of the 12 days of Christmas, no movie is more fitting to discuss than Robert Eggers‘ remake of the 1922 horror classic “Nosferatu.”

“Nosferatu” is a beautiful, chilling tale featuring intense, captivating performances from its main cast. The story is a direct rip-off of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” in which a young couple, Ellen and Thomas Hutter, are stalked and tormented by the evil Count Orlok. And I’m not being facetious when I say this movie is a rip-off. The original “Nosferatu” was successfully sued for copyright infringement by Bram Stoker’s heirs. This means the 1922 and 2024 films follow Stoker’s “Dracula,” almost beat-for-beat, with a few alterations. The most important changes to the story include the expanded role of Ellen Hutter, who plays a significant role in bringing down Count Orlok.

I caught a screening of the 1922 film at a Halloween event hosted by Grace Cathedral, and hands-down, it was one of the coolest movie-viewing experiences of my life. The pulpy horror of Nosferatu set against the backdrop of Grace Cathedral’s beautiful interior, as well as the improvised pipe organ performance that accompanied the film, made for an unforgettable experience. Robert Eggers’ had much to live up to, but I think he did his best to modernize this old story.

My favorite of Egger’s unique directions would be to set the story of Nosferatu against the winter in 1838, during the period commonly known as the 12 days of Christmas.

In the film, Anna and Friedrich Harding, the doomed best friends of the main characters (don’t act surprised by that – this is a movie with a high body count), urgently discuss Ellen Hutter’s terrifying fits in front of the glowing candles of their Tannenbaum.

Later, as Count Orlok brings a horrifying, rat-infested plague to the fictional German city of Wisborg, Anna Harding expresses that it is Christmastide, the festive period between December 25th and January 5th, and usually a time when killer vampires refrain from sucking the life out of the living.

(That’s your family’s job! HA HA HA)

Sadly, there is no grand scene where Count Orlok brings Christmas presents for the children or where Thomas and Ellen Hutter teach Nosferatu the true meaning of Christmas, but that doesn’t make “Nosferatu” any less of a Christmas movie.

Given the graphic violence, sexual content, and generally upsetting nature of the movie, you may not want to watch this film with your Hallmark-loving parents (luckily for you, I have many alternative recommendations). But if you have any friends who are horror aficionados and have trouble getting into the spirit of the holidays, this could be the movie for them.

This movie is not perfect. I stand by my opinion that any film clocking over 120 minutes should be illegal (unless it’s “Dune Two” or like a happy musical or something because I like those and that’s different), and “Nosferatu” clocks in at a hefty 132 minutes. Most of the film’s runtime is spent establishing the gothic, moody atmosphere of 19th-century Europe. Eggers’ achieved this effect by casting the characters in shadow or filming in dark locations, with barely candlelight to illuminate the scene. Eggers must have a temporary allergy to color because the scenes that weren’t in black-and-white had a grim, desaturated palette, like an older film. Even if that was a deliberate choice, it made the movie’s visuals less engaging, further slowing the pacing.

Despite my critiques, “Nosferatu” is a frightening and entertaining film that pays homage to its predecessor while expanding on the themes introduced but not explored in the first film. And “Nosferatu” teaches us many important lessons, the most notable being don’t be too vocal about loving your family in a horror film, or else you’re signing their death warrants.

Happy 12th Night and Three Kings’ Day Eve to all celebrating.