Nosferatu Plot Summary
“Nosferatu” is a thrilling piece of filmmaking, gothic horror that serves as an artistic homage to Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, marking the return of the infamous Count Orlok.
We now shift to 1838 Germany, where estate agent Thomas Hutter is embarking on a journey to meet Count Orlok in Transylvania. He is a prospective client looking for an estate to purchase, but has some sinister intentions underneath that pale face of his. Orlok is preparing to become a Count of a different sort, and Hutter seems to be none the wiser. This meeting is set to change the trajectory of his life forever. Out of the two plans he has, moving to a different country or getting married, he seems to have chosen the latter, just newly wed to his sweetheart, Ellen.
During his travels, he plans to pick up a newly advertised estate in Transylvania. His new plan includes meeting the Count ‘Orlok’ in person along with his wife, Ellen, which seems to promise an adventure unlike ever before.
As for Ellen, she is left in the care of their friends, Friedrich and Anna Harding. After some time, she starts to encounter some rather unpleasant visions. She senses something about to happen soon. She is met with an evil force that is way beyond her capabilities. She tries to save Thomas from her fate, but he, too, is forced to take a flight from the Count, courtesy of a horrific plan.
The visions experienced by Ellen intensify towards the end, and Thomas sheds any sanity he had left.
What happens in Wisborg?
In the middle of all the chaos, Thomas manages to break free from the stronghold of the Count and miraculously escapes back to Wisborg. Besides this, Knock also manages to claw his way free from the confines set on him, which, considering his history with live pigeons, is a deep relief for the audience as they are spared from any cataviander videos.
Nothing quite as captivating as a live pigeon being torn into pieces.
But alas, the ship where the Count is stowed away also contains more than just this undead vampire. It also has a literal plague of rats that scurry out onto land and immediately start pouring over the city.
Count Orlok is undeterred by the carnage, though, and decides to visit Ellen that very night. He reasons that he’s bound to her (more on this later), and she has three days to submit to his will. Failure to do so means a promise of death for Thomas. So when Ellen denies Orlok on the first night – she does no such thing – the plague spreads with an absurd amount of speed.
In the aftermath, he discovers that this is not merely a plague, and so Prof Eberhart von Franz sets himself to devising measures to contain the still-bubbling outbreak alongside the rotten shell of what once was society.
Now, what do Orlok and Ellen have in common?
Ellen, on her side, has been given the opportunity to finally speak to her husband. The twist to this is that Thomas has the right to be stunned, because his spouse tells him that she personally invoked the demon.
As a lonely young girl, Ellen probably never thought of a kind entity that would accompany her. However, due to her extra sensory, or psychic, abilities, she was able to reach out to Orlok and connect with him. Unfortunately, the pair’s relationship ended up becoming a toxic, meshed bond.
The bond Errol had with both women conjured up an unhealthy dynamic. That said, the Count did everything he could to resuppress Orlok’s beloved after discovering their marriage. He became perceptively obsessed with sabotaging their life together. Avoiding all of this simply comes down to facing Orlok directly.
With the remaining energy that made him feel human, he was able to convince Thomas to accompany him to his estate. This way, once he’s tricked the husband into signing ‘formal documents’, they later turned out to be relinquishing documents.
His motive for relocating to Wisborg stems from wanting Orlok to reverse his declaration of intention to annex Ellen’s heart into his vampire realm.
To “invite him in” as per conventional vampire folklore, in this case, the heart of the woman bound by wedlock.
What is the plan?
During the second day, even more tragedy occurs, this time bringing the deaths of Friedrich and Anna’s children along with Anna herself, all visited by the Count that night.
Ellen, the only one who can do this, knows that she is bound to do it because of the bond they share. At the funeral, our makeshift team unites to shatter the sarcophagus and kill the Count by plunging an iron spike into his heart.
He goes on to confirm that he’ll restrain Thomas for that night to her after she goes and tempts the Count to her. The Professor heads into the Count’s chambers to burn the bodies before they can rise or infect more. He makes it his intention to destroy the sarcophagus. As they open up the lid and stab the body inside, a knock is there, it turns out. He meets his end as the lamb of sacrifice for his lord, as Thomas realizes the Count is actually with Ellen. To wind things up, the Professor burns the room, letting it blaze. Did Orlok get defeated?
Ellen brings the Count to her, where she gets in a wedding dress and, for real this time, gets into an unholy wedding with Orlok. She says “I do” in the other remains of the wedding dress while simply lying on the floor waiting for Orlok to “complete” the marriage. There isn’t any intercourse, but instead, she allows him to devour her blood. Feast on her he will.
The Count sun will rise, but the moment is about to head out, Orlok is looking to leave. As the sunlight is slowly scorching his face, a weak Ellen yanks him down allowing him to carry on. This is basically surrendering for everyone around her and willingly succumbing to Orlok’s lust, which is allowed to succeed.
Ellen, with the sacrifice dies, Count vanquished, set to go. But losing her life is the price she pays and the condition met to achieve this. Just in time of her passing, “Oh,” begins to hold her hand knowing fully well he lost his “fair maiden.” Thomas would appear.
There’s more to it in as part of a longer list, which is the curse Nosferatu legally does possess, so now it is freed because of all the efforts of Ellen.
The last frame depicting Nosferatu and Ellen lying dead together is brilliantly framed with the renaissance art-piece, ‘Death and the Maiden’ by Egon Schiele, which showcases the endless clash of good versus evil. Ellen’s ultimate sacrifice was for the greater good, but in the process of ridding the world of the vile creature, she lost her life.
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