Nosferatu

2024 Focus Features

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 12min

Gothic Horror ~ Supernatural Horror ~ Vampire Horror

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe.

Succumb To The Darkness

Nosferatu unfolds in 19th-century Germany, centering on Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), a young woman haunted by eerie nightmares and a psychic connection to the mysterious vampire Nosferatu. Ellen’s husband, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), a real estate agent, is sent to Transylvania to finalize the sale of a remote manor to the reclusive and terrifying Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Despite warnings from locals, Thomas persists, unaware of the dark fate awaiting him and his family.

Upon meeting Count Orlok at his eerie castle, Thomas experiences increasingly disturbing events. Orlok exerts a malevolent influence, forcing Thomas to annul his marriage to Ellen through a strange document. While Thomas becomes physically weakened and trapped in the castle, Orlok sets off on a ship to Ellen’s town, Wisborg, carrying with him a devastating plague transmitted by rats. Ellen’s health deteriorates as she suffers from seizures and sleepwalking, under the vampire’s sinister spell.

As Orlok’s deadly presence spreads devastation through Wisborg, Ellen, along with her allies the doctor Wilhelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson) and occult scientist Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe), seeks to uncover a way to stop Nosferatu. They discover that Orlok’s power can only be ended by a willing sacrifice from a pure maiden. Ellen, driven by love and despair, makes a harrowing decision to confront Orlok on her own.

The tension crescendos as Ellen sacrifices herself, luring Orlok and stalling him until sunrise, ultimately ending his reign of terror. This act is both tragic and empowering, highlighting Ellen’s bravery and empathy amid chaos and loss. The film doesn’t shy away from exploring dark sexual themes, violence, and despair, pushing boundaries both visually and narratively.

Nosferatu is a triumph of horror craftsmanship, its moody visuals, gripping performances, and relentless sense of doom evoke the spirit of the original while giving it new life. While it lacks some visceral scares, it makes up for it in atmosphere and existential horror, a film not just about vampires but about loneliness, obsession, and sacrificial love. For fans of Gothic, Vampire and Supernatural Horror, Nosferatu delivers a chilling experience that lingers long after the credits roll.

Juror #2

2024 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 54min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Legal Thriller

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland.

Justice Is Blind, Guilt Sees Everything.

Nicholas Hoult stars as Justin Kemp, a journalist and recovering alcoholic in Savannah, Georgia, who is called to serve jury duty during a high-profile murder trial. As Kemp listens to the prosecution’s case, a young man accused of killing his girlfriend after a public altercation, he soon discovers unsettling parallels between his own actions on the night of the crime and the evidence presented in court. The prosecutor, Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), sees the case as an opportunity to further her campaign for district attorney, while Kemp’s personal struggles add mounting tension to his role as a juror.

As the trial unfolds, Kemp realizes that he may have unwittingly contributed to the victim’s death on the same night of the incident, igniting a powerful moral conflict. Desperate for guidance, he seeks advice from his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and weighs whether to sway the jury’s verdict in light of his possible involvement. Within the jury room, debates intensify as forensic evidence and conflicting eyewitness testimony cast doubt on the defendant’s guilt, while Kemp must grapple with emotions of guilt and responsibility without exposing his secret.

Kemp’s inner turmoil challenges him to confront issues of justice, personal accountability, and family loyalty as cracks begin to show in the prosecution’s narrative. Pressures from the courtroom and worries about his wife’s difficult pregnancy further complicate his moral choices, pushing him toward a decision that might change the outcome of the trial and his own life forever. The narrative artfully explores themes of truth and redemption, keeping the resolution tightly guarded as Kemp’s fate, and the real story behind the crime, hangs in the balance.

I honestly can’t say much more about this movie without giving anything away. And I think it is best viewed that way. I am going to write a separate review/story about the movie and do a deep dive into the story, the plot, the dilemma and the ending complete with a SPOILER ALERT WARNING. Did I like the movie? Would I recommend it? Would I watch it again? The answer to all those questions is an absolute yes. Clint Eastwood did a great job with this movie that sucks you in deeper than quicksand at every turn. As did Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland. It is a different take on the Legal Thriller and the jury process, well worth a watch.

Give it a go and let me know what you think………….

THE ORDER

2024 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 55min

Action ~ Drama ~ Suspense

Directed by: Justin Kurzel

Starring: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, and Marc Maron.

“Defeat…..NEVER……..Victory………FOREVER!”

Here is the synopsis from The Order Movie’s Official Website:

For over a year, a series of bold daylight bank robberies and armored car heists leaves law enforcement baffled and the public panicked throughout the Pacific Northwest. As the attacks become increasingly violent, FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) becomes convinced that the robberies are the work of domestic terrorists that plan to use the loot to finance an armed uprising against the U.S. government.

Based on a true story, The Order follows Husk and his team into the tangled world of white supremacists as they try to head off a violent uprising that could shatter the nation. As the militia builds a war chest of over $4 million, Husk pursues the malevolent racist Bob Mathews to a final bloody standoff that will go down in U.S. history.

Here’s what I think about that:

An absolutely horrifying look inside the workings and the mindset of a group of White Supremacists. It is also a deeper look into their beliefs and their Manifesto/Bible/Handbook The Turner Diaries. A 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce, the founder and chairman of National Alliance, a white nationalist group, published under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald. And also their willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve their aims, even murder.

In a nutshell The Turner Diaries advocates extreme violence by any means necessary to achieve the means to overthrow the US Government. Then inciting a race war and ethnically cleansing America of any non-white peoples. Then using America’s Nuclear weapons on New York and Israel, allowing Arab countries to destroy what is left of Israel and the Israeli people. Then nuking Russia so a Russia-America Nuclear war destroys Americas cities and world civilization. To then be replaced by The All White Order.

There is a reckoning they call “The Day of The Rope” where the non-whites and anyone who has helped or aided them are all hanged in a single day. I recall the images of The Jan. 6th riots at the Capitol and seeing a platform with three rope nooses ready for the Vice President, Pelosi, etc.

Jesus…..this is very scary shit. Is America the new Germany? Is someone recently voted into power the new Adolf Hitler? Seriously….this is horrifying stuff. Not for the faint at heart. Some of you should just turn off the TV and go back to working in your gardens.

Here’s what I thought about the movie:

I thought it was good. Lots of action, drama and suspense. Robberies, murder, car chases and more as the FBI and the local police chase down members of The Order. As members of The Order are stalking the police, the FBI and anyone who is getting in their way of attempting to make The Turner Diaries a reality. Jude Law did a great job as the brooding FBI agent hell bent on stopping the insanity. Nicholas Hoult was eerily sinister hiding behind the all American boy façade of Bob Mathews while plotting America’s destruction. Tye Sheridan as the local police officer caught in a moral dilemna between right and loyalty to his hometown people.

I really thought all the actors did a great job, I liked it. I thought it was really good. Scary and eye-opening knowing it was a true story and that was forty years ago. It makes you worried about the future and what is to happen to America. Thank God for the men and women out their fighting the battles in our homeland we don’t get to see if someone doesn’t make a film out of it.

So yes I liked it, I recommend it.

But know what it is, a horrifying true look at White Supremacy in America.