Directed by Robert Eggers (The Northman (2022); The Lighthouse (2019); The Witch (2015)) and starring Lily-Rose Depp (Silent Night (2021); The King (2019); Tusk (2014)), Nicholas Hoult (Juror #2 (2024); About a Boy (2002); Warm Bodies (2013); Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy (2009); Kick-Ass (2010); The Fall Guy (2024); The King's Man (2021)), Emma Corrin (Lady Chatterly's Lover (2022); Deadpool & Wolverine (2024); The Crown (tv series, 2020)), Simon McBurney (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011); Jane Eyre (2011); The Last King of Scotland (2006); the Conjuring 2 (2016)), Bill Skarsgård (It (2017); The Crow (2024); John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man (2002); The Lighthouse (2019); The Florida Project (2017); Poor Things (2023)) and Ralph Ineson (The Green Knight (2021); The Witch (2015); The Creator (2023)).

Horror, 133 mins; 16+

Set in 1838 in a German coastal town, this gothic horror is an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Newly-weds Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) have a small house in the town, and he only has a short walk to his office where he works as a clerk for a firm of estate agents, headed by Mr Knock (Simon McBurney). Expecting a promotion, he accepts a task that will take him on a six-day journey to Transylvania to meet a new client, Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), who is to purchase a run-down manor house in the German town, supposedly for his retirement.  

While Thomas is away, Ellen stays with their friends Anna (Emma Corrin) and Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). She suffers a recurrence of nightmares while he is away, evolving into an apparent obsession, resulting in Dr. Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson) being called out. He does what he can for her, but suspects that there are sinister forces at play and brings in his former teacher Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe) who has since been discredited by his profession.

Meanwhile, Thomas witnesses some strange rituals on his way to meet the count and, once he reaches the castle, he meets the terrifying man himself. He suffers hallucinations, wakes up after apparently being drugged and find bit marks on his chest...

Both sets of events are linked, with the protagonists coming to realise that the count is infatuated with Ellen.

The story moves on to the count travelling to the German town in a coffin, bringing with it a hoard of rats infected with the plague...

A wonderful remake of the original 1922 film by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, with extensive use of shadows to create a dated feel to the proceedings. Sometimes a large cast of leading characters causes some confusion, but not here as everyone has their own place and role within the story that plays out on the big screen over the course of a little over two hours.

Plenty of rats and a number of relative gory scenes - but nothing extreme - in what is an atmospheric and chilling retelling of the original vampire story, with excellent performances by all of the main cast, particularly Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe and Simon McBurney.

To be released at Kinepolis Luxembourg from 25 December 2024.