PE Proposal: Count Orlok (remake)

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“	Count Orlok: YOU ARE FALSE! So you wish me to prove my enmity as well? I will leave you three nights! Tonight was the first. Tonight you denied yourself, and thereby you suffer me to vanish up the lives of those you love! Ellen Hutter: Denied myself?! You revel in my torture! Count Orlok: Upon the third night you will submit, or he you call your husband shall perish by my hand. Ellen Hutter: No! Count Orlok: ‘Til you bid me come, shall you watch the world become as naught. Ellen Hutter: NO!!!	„
	~ I think this is Orlok's way of saying, "Ellen, you will be mine or everything you love will die." Quite a way to stand up to your abuser, Ellen.

Hooray, it's my sixth proposal now and my first one of the year, so naturally I had to find one that gives off real evil vibes, so this should be interesting. When I heard they were remaking this movie, my first thought was "What’s he going to look like?" Naturally, I saw the film and noticed he looked nothing like his silent film counterpart, but still carried the same traits. Long story short, the film was dramatic, had a few jump-scares, and was gross, but it was definitely a story worth telling. So it looks like I am making another vampire proposal (In case you forgot, I did Dracula from The Last Voyage of the Demeter).

Since this villain is from a film that was just released, I had to wait two weeks before I could officially propose to him. Thankfully, I had this one reserved for months, so I came prepared. Well, it looks like those two weeks are up, so let us begin the remake of "The Symphony of Horror."

What's the Work

Nosferatu is a 2024 supernatural horror film directed, written, and co-produced by Robert Eggers. The film also happens to be a remake of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu, which was inspired by Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The film is about a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

Who is the candidate?

Forget Nosferatu. This should have been Bram Stoker's Dracula. To think most fans of the novel have been waiting for this design and it goes to Nosferatu.

Count Orlok, also known as the Nosferatu, is the titular main antagonist of the 2024 horror film Nosferatu, a remake of the 1922 silent film with the same name.

A mysterious nobleman from Transylvania who also happens to be a satanic sorcerer who made a deal with Satan and is cursed to walk the Earth as a vampire. He later becomes infatuated with Ellen Hutter ever since she called to him as a girl and he seeks to make her his, no matter how many people he has to kill to get her. He is also the arch-nemesis of Ellen and Thomas Hutter.

He is also loosely based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula. Fun fact: His remake appearance is accurate to the novel's version of Count Dracula.

What has he done?

Welcome to your nightmare, bitch!

Count Orlok's early life is full of mystery, but what is known is that he was a noble-born who took advantage of his aristocratic nature and became a Solomonari who practiced black magic to give himself more power. At the end of his life, he met with Satan himself who preserved his soul so that he may walk the Earth again as a blasphemous corpse or vampire. However, as part of his curse, he must return to the Earth from which he was buried and never go in the sunlight, forcing him to sleep in his coffin during the day and wake at night. His practices with dark magic and the Devil would cause him to earn a terrible reputation with the Romani people and the religious, they would come to fear him and never journey to his castle out of fear that they would become his next victim or worse, they would become like him. He would later terrorize their villages, bringing plagues and losing citizens in the night. The Romani would also encounter other vampires at night (who were most likely turned by him), causing them to go on vampire hunts to ensure they didn't spread.

During a time of despair, a young Ellen prays to a sort of "guardian angel" to bring her love and comfort. Unbeknownst to her, Ellen actually opened a supernatural door to the unknown and summoned Count Orlok who was awakened by her urgent pleas and manipulated her into giving herself over to him. When she agrees, he mind-rapes her which causes her to have a seizure. He would continue to haunt her as an adult, causing her to sleepwalk and have seizures and nightmares until she met a kind real estate agent named Thomas Hutter whom she fell in love and married, relieving her of Orlok's torment of her. When Orlok discovered this, he became increasingly jealous and sought to take Ellen back by any means necessary.

Using a fellow Satanist and Thomas Hutter's boss, Herr Knock, he brainwashes him into an occult pact with him who then becomes his most loyal servant. Together, they conspired to separate Ellen and Thomas by sending Thomas to Castle Orlok in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania thinking he is going to sell a decrepit stately home, Schloss Grünewald, to Orlok, when in reality, Orlok is going feed off and kill Thomas and is purchasing Schloss Grünewald to be closer to Ellen. Arriving in Transylvania, Thomas is shunned by the local Romani for affiliating himself with Orlok and beg him not to go, but will still pray for him if he does. That same night, Thomas witnesses the Romani performing a strange ritual in which they desecrate a vampire's corpse (most likely one of Orlok's surviving victims) by impaling its chest with an iron stake.

Arriving at Castle Orlok the next night, Thomas is greeted at the door by Count Orlok who tells him he is late but still insists on finalizing the purchase of Schloss Grünewald. While eating together, Thomas tells Orlok about the strange ritual he saw the Romani performing. Orlok disregards Thomas's question and changes the subject by telling Thomas to address him as "Lord" and that Thomas should eat, but when Thomas cuts his thumb with a knife, Orlok's bloodlust kicks in and uses his powers to mesmerize Thomas and attacks him. The next morning, Thomas wakes up with no memory of what has happened, but finds bite marks on his chest and rats eating at his feet. At night, Orlok goes over the documentation for Schloss Grünewald with Thomas and asks to see Thomas’ locket with Ellen's picture and hair. Orlok then has Thomas sign the property deed to finalize the purchase in exchange for a hefty sum, unbeknownst to Thomas, it is actually divorce papers written in Romani, which he can't understand. Thomas then demands to leave as soon as possible, but Orlok demands he stay until he no longer feels ill. He then feeds off him again and wipes his memory.

The next morning, a pale and panicked Thomas tries to escape Castle Orlok but finds himself locked in. Thomas then finds one unlocked door that leads to a crypt that contains a coffin and finds Orlok sleeping in that coffin. He tries to kill him by impaling him with an iron shovel, but Orlok springs awake and counterattacks, sending his wolves after him. Fleeing the Count's wolves, Thomas locks himself in a room, but Orlok uses his powers to psychically manipulate Thomas into opening the door and feeding on him again. During this, Orlok smells Thomas' locket and uses it to reestablish his link to Ellen, forcing her to sleepwalk and telling her she will be his again. He would continue to torment her again, night after night, by making her sick with seizures.

After Thomas escapes, Orlok boards a cargo ship called The Empusa and sails for Wisborg in his coffin with a crate of plague rats. He would then unleash the plague rats on the ship's crew who kill them one by one, except for the captain and the first mate, who Orlok kills himself. With the crew all dead, Orlok intentionally crashes The Empusa into the Wisborg dockyard and unleashes the plague rats on Wisborg as they infect the citizens. Unseen by the police and the dockhands, Orlok calls upon Herr Knock to retrieve him and his coffin and deliver them to Schloss Grünewald. Once they arrive at Schloss Grünewald, Orlok discovers that Thomas is alive and that the only way Ellen can be free of her vow to Thomas is if she relinquishes herself willingly. Herr Knock asks him what he can do for him now, practically throwing himself at Orlok, but Orlok hits him across the face when he grows tired of insolence and commands him to leave. Orlok then smells Ellen's locket again and vows to see her again and taste her.

The next night, Orlok says an incantation from his windowsill that has the shadow from his hand cover all of Wisborg, indicating that he is commanding his rats to spread all over Wisborg and deliver the black plague to each of its citizens. That same night, Orlok appears to Ellen in a dream, taunting her that they are drawn to each other and that he tricked Thomas into signing divorce papers, but Ellen doesn't believe him. Enraged, Orlok warns her that if she doesn't approve the divorce within two more nights and rekindles the deal she made when she first summoned him, he will kill Thomas and let the plague consume Wisborg, causing Ellen much distress, especially when she wakes up and sees her friend Anna covered in plague rats, convulsing. In the morning, Anna has contracted the black plague, along with many other citizens as the rooms at the Wisborg Hospital are full and overcrowded. Those who weren’t admitted to the hospital were unloaded from carriages and left to die in the street.

That night, to prove Orlok has no power over her, Ellen provokes Thomas into having sex with her, so he will watch and in a jealous rage, Orlok kills a pregnant Anna and her two daughters. Grief-stricken and plague-ridden, Anna's husband Friedrich dies after committing necrophilia with Anna's corpse, showing how much Orlok's actions have affected him.

As the third night approaches: Ellen, Thomas, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, and Doctor Wilhelm Sievers plot to kill Count Orlok and destroy his resting places, including Schloss Grünewald, but Von Franz convinces Ellen that the only way to end Orlok's reign of terror is to sacrifice herself to him. Ellen then calls out to him, pretending to approve her divorce and submit it to him. Orlok arrives at the Hutter Residence and he and Ellen share a passionate moment as they kiss and have sex, until the moment turns grim when he bites into her chest and proceeds to drink her dry. Relishing in his victory, Orlok is in shock when he realizes he has been tricked by Ellen into staying until sunrise. At this point, Orlok dies from exposure and shrivels up into a corpse, ending his reign of terror on Wisborg.

Heinous Standards

These are just some of his greatest highlights. From bloodsucking to plague-bearing, this guy is just the worst.

The standards all revolve around him for his continuous mind-rape of Ellen and eventual physical rape, mass murder of innocent people, terrorizing villages, bringing vampires into the world, and unleashing the black plague on a cargo ship and Wisborg and eventually, all of Germany. He is a grave threat to everyone he comes across, as every known character in the film is shown to fear him, except for Friedrich Harding, who didn't believe he existed until after he killed his family: his wife Anna (who was pregnant) and his daughters Clara and Louise (who were children). It is unknown how many people he killed, but it’s likely incalculable since the black plague killed an entire ship's crew and much of the citizens of Wisborg, Germany, when he didn't kill them himself by drinking and eating them. He likely brainwashed Herr Knock into an occult pact which drove him insane and forced him to kill and eat animals. Knock would also become his most loyal servant, but never cared much about him and would sometimes abuse, and finally, leave him to die. He is clearly powerful and very resourceful, as he was once a nobleman with well-known riches before he started practicing dark magic to become a Solomonari and eventually a vampire, which he uses very well for nefarious purposes.

The most important one is his obsession and personal cruelty towards Ellen Hutter and her husband, Thomas Hutter. The plot revolves around his endless torment of Ellen since he was summoned to her as a girl and manipulates her into giving him control of her body to do whatever he pleases, causing her to have seizures and nightmares her whole life. Once she falls in love and marries Thomas, Orlok makes it his mission to kill him and make Ellen his again, even if he has to destroy her life to get her. He brainwashes Thomas' boss, Herr Knock, to lure him to his home where he psychologically torments him and feeds off him thrice until he eventually kills him, even manipulating him into signing divorce papers. He even tries to kill Thomas when he discovers who he really is, sending his wolves after him until he falls from a window into a river while escaping. This causes Thomas to get PTSD from his time with Orlok, making him determined to kill him. Once Orlok arrives in their hometown, he unleashes the black plague and kills many citizens, including Thomas and Ellen's friends. When Orlok appears to Ellen in a dream and she refuses him, Orlok threatens her to agree to the divorce and rekindle their bond or he will kill Thomas and let the Black Plague consume all of Wisborg. When Ellen pretends to rekindle their bond in order to distract him long enough until sunrise, Orlok decides to feed from her chest and kill her. Once dead, Ellen dies too and all Thomas can do is hold her hand as she dies, causing him more grief than ever because of Orlok.

Freudian Excuse/Mitigating Factors

None. Despite being resurrected and cursed to be a vampire by Satan, it doesn’t make him tragic, since he was likely already evil before dying and being cursed. As it was stated by nuns, Orlok was a Solomonari, or a black wizard of Satan, in his early life, meaning he was human and not a demon spawn as it was stated in the original film (meaning we likely don’t have to worry about moral agency issues). He willingly gave himself over to dark magic for power and then became an occultist, because he likely knew that Satan would preserve his life, which means becoming a vampire was his own undoing. Another sign that he is a Solomonari is that he called upon nature to increase the winds and thunders during his sea voyage, which is their main power, according to Romanian folklore.

He cares for no one and nothing, other than his bloodlust. His love for Ellen isn’t real, as it’s stated in the plot, he sees her as an object of his desire and would repeatedly rape her mentally and one time physically. His obsession with her started when she called to him as a teenager, making him an Ephebophile, and would continue even as an adult. His intense jealousy over Ellen loving Thomas Hutter is because he feels as though he is losing his hold over Ellen and their connection is growing weak, which is why he tries to kill him many times, but not before he feeds off him first. Orlok even came to Ellen in a dream and she described him in perfect detail: A villain, deceiver, and apathetic. He then threatens to take everything from Ellen within 3 days unless she renews their bond, the third day being he will kill Thomas, proving that he never loved her at all if Orlok has to make threats to her.

Orlok doesn't even care about servants, like Herr Knock. He and Herr Knock made an occult pact to lure Thomas Hutter to his castle and it appears that Orlok may have brainwashed Knock into agreeing to this pact since he appears crazy throughout the film, ranting about his master and eating animals. As a real estate agent, Knock has access to the best estates which is likely what Orlok was interested in and the fact that Thomas Hutter worked for him made it better, in short, Orlok used him for his resources. He was also shown to be abusive to Knock, psychologically and physically, never much interest in his devoted (brainwashed) servant, and hit him across the face for interrupting him. In the final moments of the movie, Orlok leaves Knock in his coffin as a distraction for Thomas, Dr. Sievers, and Professor Von Franz, but they kill him the second they open the coffin and Knock is left wondering why Orlok has abandoned him.

Despite his association with animals, like wolves or rats, Orlok doesn’t really care about them either, he only sees them as servants to his will and as a means to carry out his crimes. We don’t really see the wolves anywhere but his castle and the rats he uses to spread the black plague on Wisborg. He is taken very seriously and is seen as a dark threat throughout the whole film, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering the tone of the film. He also seemed disappointed that his wolves failed to kill Thomas Hutter as he commanded.

Quite a way for a vampire to die. I think I would have preferred him vanishing into nothing, but I guess he's gotta die somehow, well done Mr. Eggers.

Lastly, the end of the film is sad because Orlok finally gets Ellen all to himself, and they have a passionate moment. Then he eats from her chest until the sun comes up and he dies in her embrace. With the sad music playing in the background, it could almost be seen as a sympathetic ending. Right? Wrong! The ending was a trap to put Orlok in front of the sun and die, ending his plight on Wisborg and Ellen. His shock was from the fact that he had been tricked by the woman he tormented her life and that he had nowhere left to hide or escape from his inevitable fate. The main characters of the movie seem to be delighted that Orlok is finally gone, even though Thomas is still sad because it was only possible because of Ellen's sacrifice. In that moment, I would say the sympathy falls more on Ellen because she was willing to give her life to end his, as she let him ravage her and feed off her, to distract him long enough. She even holds him until the sun consumes him to make sure he doesn’t get away and he dies on top of her, and Thomas holds her hand one last time, before she dies, proving that she is the sympathetic one for all that Orlok has done to her. In my opinion, it was kind of a gross scene with Orlok having a make-out session with Ellen, eating out of her chest, and dying with blood pouring out of him as he turns into a corpse, but overall, I call it Karma.

Final Verdict

"From the power of Satan sprang the evil vampire Nosferatu who liveth and feedeth on human blood."