At the time of its release, the film was very controversial, drawing a lawsuit from Stoker’s estate over copyright infringement, but it has come to be regarded as a seminal horror movie which has inspired many of those that have come since.

Now, it serves as the direct inspiration for The Witch and The Lighthouse filmmaker Robert Eggers’s latest film – which is also called Nosferatu and expands upon Murnau’s version while making some interesting alterations.

Early reviews for the film have been very positive – with our own four-star verdict calling it “a creepy, compelling take on the vampire myth” and praising it “as a thing of beauty” – while the performances of Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård have been especially highlighted.

These positive words may very well have convinced you to make a trip to the pictures as soon as you can – read on for everything you need to know about when Nosferatu releases in UK cinemas, as well as more information about the plot and cast.

Nosferatu UK release date

The film will be arriving in UK cinemas on Wednesday 1st January 2025 – so a real New Year’s treat for fans!

That’s one week after its release in the US, where it will debut on Christmas Day.

Nosferatu plot

The plot will be very familiar to anyone who has ever read or watched Dracula in any of its many forms – following events after an estate agent is sent to visit a fearsome client in Transylvania, which sets off a terrifying sequence of events.

The official synopsis provided by Focus Features reads: “Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in his wake.”

This version puts more focus on Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) than previous versions, while one of the most significant changes Eggers has made is making Count Orlok – the vampire at the centre of the story – into a more traditional folk vampire than we’ve seen in other big-screen adaptations.

“The folk vampire is not a suave dinner-coat-wearing seducer, nor a sparkling, brooding hero,” he said in his director’s statement.

“The folk vampire embodies disease, death and sex in a base, brutal and unforgiving way. This is the vampire I wanted to exhume for a modern audience.”

Nosferatu cast

Nosferatu can count on a star-studded cast to bring this age-old story to life, with Bill Skarsgård taking on the lead role of Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp excelling in the part of Ellen Hutter.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Hoult is Thomas Hutter, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin play his friends Friedrich and Anna Harding and Simon McBurney stars as Herr Knock – Hutter’s boss who is secretly working for Orlok.

There are also key roles for a couple of Robert Eggers regulars in the shape of Ralph Ineson as Dr Wilhelm Siever and Willem Dafoe as Prof Albin Eberhart Von Franz.

Interestingly, the latter previously had a key role in the 2000 film Shadow of a Vampire – which told the behind-the-scenes story of the original 1922 Nosferatu.

Nosferatu trailer

If you’re still unsure of whether to watch the film, you can get a very good idea of what to expect in terms of tone and atmosphere by watching the below trailer.

It’s a spooky one, that’s for sure!

Nosferatu is released in UK cinemas on New Year’s Day 2025.

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