10 Most Shocking Nosferatu Scenes, Ranked

WARNING: Major spoilers for Nosferatu aheadHorror film about vampires by Robert Eggers Nosferatus is memorable for its slow-paced narrative and intense sense of dread, but there were still several moments that were genuinely shocking. Starring Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok, the gothic tale borrows heavily from genuine Eastern European folklore to create a nightmarish new iteration of the familiar story about a mysterious Transylvanian nobleman terrorizing a Western European town and, in particular, a newly married couple. married. NosferatusReviews have been glowing, with critics and fans praising its powerful, world-building performances.

Some observed that Nosferatus it's not as "scary" as other modern horror films, and admittedly, it's light on the typical jump scares and gore that typically define the genre. However, that doesn't mean the film completely lacks shock value. While there may not be many ghosts and ghouls leaping out of the shadows, there are plenty of shocking images and disturbing moments throughout the narrative. 10 moments in particular stand out as the most shocking and have been ranked in order of how shocking or traumatizing they are.

10

Thomas Hutter is pulled into the carriage

The first true sign of Orlok's power

This moment is at the bottom of the list due to the pace at which it unfolds. As Thomas Hutter prepares to walk to Count Orlok's castle, he finds himself on a dark road lit only by the moon and shining snow. He is soon approached by a carriage coming towards him at full speed before coming to a screeching halt. From there, he enters a dream state and is silently pulled into the carriage by an invisible force. In reality, he probably took real steps into the carriage, but In a dreamy trance-like state, he appears to slowly levitate into the carriage.

It is the first real indicator of Count Orlok's supernatural power in this period. Audiences had already seen him invade the mind of a lonely Ellen Hutter at that moment, but that had already happened years before. Thomas had already had a series of terrifying encounters in the village at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, but the psychic trance and the unattended carriage really makes it clear the level of power he's about to come face to face with.

9

Grieving Friedrich holds his wife for the last time

Grieving husband violates his family mausoleum

The Hardings are the ultimate example of "no good deed goes unpunished" in Nosferatusas the reward for taking in Ellen while Thomas is in Transylvania is her entire family being exterminated by Count Orlok. After Orlok kills his loving wife Anna (Emma Corrin) and their two children, Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is left alone and joins the Hutters, Professor Von Franz, and Dr. Overcome with grief, Friedrich visits the grave of his family in the nearby cemetery, spitting blood as proof that he is suffering from the plague that is ravaging Wisborg.

A special note is made early in the film about how much Friedrich and Anna still adore each other, with a joke about how physical their love is when he reveals to Thomas that they have a third child on the way. Due to this, his violation of Anna's grave and removal of his wife's body carries a strong implication of necrophiliaand the position in which the other men find him further strengthens this notion. It was a shocking turn of events especially for Friedrich, who until then had been a highly logical and steadfast figure.

8

Anna Harding is gnawed by mice

One of the most disturbing images in the film

Emma Corrin's Anna Harding acts as Ellen's best friend and confidant while Thomas is in Transylvania, and she offers the only real support Ellen receives after her many "spells." Unfortunately, as mentioned, Anna becomes a victim of the evil that Anna summoned many years beforeand she ends up a victim of Count Orlok. Before the cruel vampire kills her and her children, Ellen asks if the two can share a bed, apparently as a nighttime comfort for a frightened Ellen.

However, Ellen's tone makes it seem like she was under Orlok's influence at the time. This is further supported by the state she finds Anna in when she wakes up: the young mother is sprawled on the floor, with her nightgown around her waist, being gnawed by plague rats who came to Wisborg on Orlok's ship. It's a horrible, shocking image that gets burned into the brain, especially for those who aren't comfortable with rats and mice.

7

The townspeople summon a virgin and kill a vampire

Thomas Hutter watches the villagers kill one of the undead

When Thomas Hutter first arrives in Transylvania, he spends the night in a small town at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, where the ruined castle of Orlok is located. During his stay at the inn, Thomas' reliability as narrator begins to waver, as it is unclear whether he is dreaming. He goes to your bedroom window at night and sees a group of locals leading a naked young woman on horseback to a nearby cemeteryalthough it is important to note that she is not bound in any way and appears to be a willing participant.

What they are actually doing, based on Eastern European folklore, is using the virgin not as a sacrifice, but as bait to discover which of the buried bodies is actually a vampire. The woman's nudity makes it easier for the vampire to smell her fresh blood, and according to tradition, a white horse carrying a virgin will not trample a vampire's grave. This image is quite shocking, but the audience receives another real scare when a vampire emerges from his buried coffin and is quickly impaled through the heart.

6

Orlok's face melts in the sun

Eggers provides one of the most memorable vampire deaths of all time

The notion of vampires being killed by sunlight actually originated from the original Nosferatusno Dracula; is one of the biggest differences between Dracula and Orlok. Robert Eggers makes a point of paying tribute with one of the best vampire deaths ever filmed. Instead of disappearing into nothingness like the original Orlok did, Eggers' Count Orlok is unable to rid himself of Ellen Hutter's blood and, as a result, melts when the sun hits him. Blood oozes from every orifice as his rotting corpse collapses on top of Ellen, resulting in a jaw-dropping final image.

5

Ellen Hutter's Most Extreme "Spell"

Lily-Rose Depp turns up the intensity

With Thomas back in Wisborg, Ellen's seizures and convulsions intensify and become more frequent and unpredictable, as Orlok himself is also around. As a result, her psychic torment reaches a fever pitch and Ellen goes through the most intense episode ever. In Thomas's presence, while awake, Ellen tears off her own clothes and begins to spin and spasm with an alteration of pain and ecstasy. Her eyes roll, her tongue goes wild, and Lily-Rose Depp delivers a compelling portrait of a person who no longer has control of her own body.

4

Orlok's first psychic invasion of Ellen

One of the only real scares in the film, and probably the best

Nosferatus begins with the incident that triggers all subsequent events: a lonely, battered Ellen reaching out in prayer to any entity that offers her comfort. As she herself is a person with some psychic ability (including the ability to see the future in small doses), her prayers reach Count Orlok, and he invades her mind for the first time. Eggers sets the tone with one of the film's most shocking scares, as Orlok grabs Ellen by the neck and roars, revealing her face in all its unholy grotesqueness for just a split second..

3

Orlok kills the Harding girls

Even children are not spared from Orlok's evil

One of the most monstrous moments for Count Orlok in Nosferatus comes during the three-night window he gives Ellen, during which he vows to kill her loved ones if she doesn't recommit to him. His first victims were the Hardings' daughters, Clara and Louise. After putting Friedrich into a deep sleep, Orlok attacks the girls in their room, violently biting their necks and sucking the life out of them.. It's a shocking scene because of the involvement of young children, and Orlok setting aside their lifeless bodies like dolls is really disturbing.

2

Orlok's full form revealed

Vampire's corpse-like body is finally exposed

Fully realizing the depth of Count Orlok's evil and the fact that the vampire is feeding on him, Thomas attempts to escape the castle. Finding the front gates locked, he looks for an alternative exit and discovers a locked door to a cellar, where Count Orlok's sarcophagus lies. Thomas decides to follow the steps he saw the villagers take and drive a stake through Orlok's heart to kill him. Unfortunately for him, Orlok wakes him up and stops him, and jumps out of the coffin to chase him, revealing its full form, free of clothes.

It's the first real look the audience gets at Orlok, and it's shocking how incredibly inhumane he really is. Although he possesses the entire male anatomy, his entire body is completely rotten and decomposing. Your visible member is not gratuitous nudity. Instead, it's an indication that Orlok used to be a living human being, but is now something completely different. It's the complete opposite of the traditional depiction of vampires.which is that they are classy, ​​classy and sexy; Orlok is utterly repulsive and shocking to look at.

1

Ellen and Orlok consummate their commitment

One of the most chilling final scenes in recent memory

Count Orlok's reign of terror comes to an end when Ellen Hutter invites him back to her room to recommit to him, as she did years ago when he first invaded her mind. With her husband and the others searching for Orlok in his ruined mansion, Ellen comes face to face with Orlok alone, and aagrees to pledge herself to him to save those she loves and the entire city of Wisborg (if not the world; the limits of Orlok's powers are unknown). The two undress and fall into her bed to consummate their "marriage" as any other newlywed would do.

The main difference is that Orlok's desire is to feed on Ellen's blood, and he opens his chest with ravenous hunger and begins to drink. Not even dawn is enough to stop him, for Ellen is able to draw him back to her when he starts to walk away with the sunlight on him.. It is a painful sacrifice to know that Ellen intends for Orlok to drain her life so that others can be saved.

The way the scene plays out is shocking in how sexually charged it isand the graphic nature of the monstrous living corpse straddling a young girl to feed on her. It's a dramatic and powerful final scene and leaves the audience with a lasting image. Like many of the most shocking moments NosferatusEllen's self-sacrifice and consummation of her commitment to ultimate evil is not sudden, but what it lacks in frightening effect it makes up for in sheer potency.