Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu presents a version of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) unlike any other, and certain details in his design are what make him so much scarier than the original. Among the latest horror classics to get the remake treatment is the 1922 German expressionist film Nosferatu, directed by F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers was the one in charge of bringing the tale of Count Orlok back to life in a big production with an outstanding cast and his trademark attention to detail and unique style of horror.
Nosferatu takes the audience back to the early 1800s to meet Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), a young woman haunted by a supernatural being. When her husband, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), goes to the castle of Count Orlok in Transylvania on a work trip, he makes a disturbing discovery. However, this is only the beginning of a series of nightmarish events for the Hutters and their loved ones, as what Orlok wants is Ellen. Count Orlok’s full look was kept a secret until Nosferatu’s release, and even the movie takes it slow to reveal it, but once it does, it’s clear why he’s so terrifying.
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Count Orlok’s Fingers & Nails Are Unusually Large
Nosferatu Pays A Lot Of Attention To Orlok’s Hands
One of the first physical traits of Count Orlok that Nosferatu shows is his hands. The trailers for Nosferatu also emphasize his hands a lot, and even these are quite disturbing. Skarsgård’s Count Orlok has unusually large and slim hands and fingers, along with long and pointy nails. The bones in his hands are visible, and the skin is in bad condition (more on that in a bit). The way Orlok moves his hands is also quite disturbing, as he moves slowly and every move seems to be very calculated.
As Orlok spends a significant amount of time hidden in the shadows, he gestures with his hands, but these are soft moves that only add to the mystery of his entire character. Even the shadow of his fingers is pretty scary, and this was an image heavily used in the trailers and promotional images. The sH๏τ of Orlok’s shadow reaching out through the city to get to Ellen fits with Nosferatu’s gothic style, and it helps that his hands were designed to have a very disturbing look.
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Count Orlok’s Moves Are Smooth Yet Terrifying
Count Orlok’s Moves Make Him Unsettling
Linked to the above point is the way Count Orlok moves. Like many other horror villains, Count Orlok isn’t one to rush, and he moves slowly, so much so that it seems like he glides. As seen in his first scene in the movie, where a scared Thomas is sitting at the table with Orlok, the latter’s slow moves make him even more terrifying, as he almost feels like an animal approaching its prey before it fully attacks. Orlok’s slow moves could be the result of his decaying state, but also to instill fear into his targets.
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Count Orlok Is Disturbingly Tall & Thin
Count Orlok Doesn’t Look Entirely Human
Bill Skarsgård is very tall (6’4’’ / 192cm), but as Count Orlok, he looks even taller due to how thin the character is. Orlok isn’t muscular at all, yet he’s quite strong despite looking as if he could break at any moment. Orlok’s height and body shape are quite imposing, as he’s taller than the rest of the characters, especially Ellen, looking quite dominant next to her. This, combined with his slow but calculating moves and the way he moves his hands throughout Nosferatu, make Count Orlok so terrifying that anyone would freeze like Thomas did when he first saw him at the castle.
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Count Orlok’s Eyes Turn White At Different Points
There’s Something Going On With Orlok’s Eyes
A physical feature of Count Orlok that isn’t seen often throughout Nosferatu but when it’s shown it’s mesmerizing and terrifying are his eyes. The first time Nosferatu clearly and fully shows Orlok’s eyes is when Thomas opens his coffin, only to find Orlok sleeping and with his eyes completely white. Orlok’s white eyes were used in the trailers for Nosferatu, but other scenes in the movie show his eyes being normal, yet with a very strong stare.
Throughout the movie, Orlok’s eyes turn white whenever he wants to contact Ellen, which usually happens after he sniffs the locket he stole from Thomas. However, at the end of Nosferatu, Count Orlok’s eyes are normal and then turn white when the sunlight hits his body and he begins to burn.
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Count Orlok’s Skin Is In Decay
Count Orlok Is Like A Walking Corpse
Count Orlok is pretty much a walking, rotten corpse, which is exactly what Eggers wanted to achieve.
The most disturbing thing about Count Orlok’s appearance by far is his skin. Again, the first proper look at Orlok is when Thomas opens his coffin, and Orlok has maggots on different parts of his body. When he awakens and rises, and later in his final scene with Ellen, the audience can see that he’s missing skin on different parts of his body, and many of them look rotten. Count Orlok, then, is pretty much a walking, rotten corpse, which is exactly what Eggers wanted to achieve.
Ahead of the release of Nosferatu, Eggers said Count Orlok isn’t a good-looking vampire, and, instead, he’s a “scary, smelly corpse.” Eggers said the audience deserved a scary and non-attractive vampire again, and he definitely achieved that in Nosferatu. All these things alone make Count Orlok terrifying and disturbing, but together, they create one of the most threatening and unsettling horror villains in recent years.
