I feel bad that this film didn’t work for me. It’s well crafted and well cast for the most part, and had it been called Dracula I think I would have been fine with it. It’s the fact that it references the German expressionist film but didn’t dive into any of its style that left me a little lost. Why not just call it Dracula then? I was so excited to see Eggers play in that sandbox and felt a little let down when I was just another period piece.

Amazing marketing for an ok movie. There’s lots to like here. The tone was chilling, the backdrop interesting and dark but in the end the movie just didn’t stick the landing for me. I think largely due to its casting. I would have loved to see these characters go deeper. For me both the protagonist and antagonist were pretty service level. The plot has a lot of wonderful things the movie seems to abandon by the second act. Though I will say there’s something in here that still leaves me interested in a rewatch.

A deeply artistic and tonal telling of a unique true crime story. The tone in this film is unbelievable. Both leads are fantastic. I love the desaturated color palette and stark framing.