What I’ve been watching: December 2024
From a preview screening of Nosferatu 2024, Channel 4's Castle Secrets to Gladiator 2
Nosferatu 2024
Earlier last week, I was a plus 1 for a preview screening of the new Nosferatu film directed by Robert Eggers. And what a film it is. It’s the best film I’ve seen this year and Eggers's best work to date. It had me positively stunned throughout. Religion mixed with the occult and an evil vampire casting darkness and death upon all. It’s a psychosexual and hypnotic new take on the gothic legend, paying tribute to the 1922 original.
You can tell they put in so much work and effort creating this dark and haunting piece. Even down to the actors. Lily-Rose Depp is incredible in Nosferatu. The acting was so realistic at times it felt as if I was the one possessed. Her best role to date. And Bill Skarsgard. Wow. I could not recognise him until halfway through the film. That’s how great he was and so in character. He’s such a frightening creation. One to haunt your dreams. All the other actors too- Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin and Ralph Ineson had memorable roles.
Incredible directing, gorgeous costumes, set design and goodness the cinematography is stunning with the colour grading. I also wonder if some scenes were filmed using natural lighting, especially the ones shot on location. And the editing with the close-up shots, draws you closer to the living nightmare. The script too is brilliant with its Victorian English literature language. Despite how dark and ‘clutches pearls’ moments the film has, there are scenes that are funny. The result of having great writing.
Lastly, the sound design and score made Nosferatu even more menacing and chilling than it already is. A 10/10 film.
Castle Secrets
On the same theme of interesting and mysterious castles (like in Nosferatu), I recently started watching the documentary series Castle Secrets on Channel 4. It focuses on grand and towering castles around the world and the secrets they hold behind their imposing structures. Episode 4 from season 1 focused on the dark history of Corvin Castle in Romania. It’s a castle that’s said to have held Vlad the Impaler as a prisoner. I did some research and the castle was also one of the filming locations for Nosferatu 2024.
Interesting fact. Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic horror book Dracula is mentioned to have been inspired by the Transylvanian Castle Corvin for Castle Dracula. Although Stoker didn’t know of the connection with Vlad the Impaler who Count Dracula is based on (and in turn Count Orlok aka Nosferatu).
Castle Corvin was built by the Hungarian political and military leader John Hunyadi who was famous for his wars against the Ottomans, even earning the curious name ‘Turk-buster’. However, in Channel 4’s Castle Secrets, it’s mentioned that Hunyadi had a darker side which was on full display in the castle. From imprisoning and torturing Turks to anyone who was an ‘enemy’ of the Hunyadi’s. Even murdering people by feeding them to bears and other wild animals. Apparently, a priest was also walled alive for eavesdropping (they suspected him of being a spy). Corvin Castle is definitely a fitting environment for Nosferatu.
Gladiator 2
I also watched Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 this month. Overall, it was okay. An entertaining sword and sandals epic. I really thought this sequel would be different to the first one which is on my top 10 favourite films but at times it was like a repetition of Gladiator 1, not bringing much new to the table. The revenge and redemption storyline. I was expecting more. At least for the film to have a soul/ substance to it which the sequel didn’t really have. Things were surface level at times and although this is a 2 1/2 hour film, some parts felt rushed (I know it’s hard to believe given the length). Like there are missing parts as certain scenes were a bit confusing.
Now to the actors. Paul Mescal who plays Lucius is okay in it. His fight scenes did him justice and you can tell they put him through his paces. Maybe a few more years starring in big projects could have helped as Gladiator 2 is a very ambitious project. In the film, the revenge plotline wasn’t big enough for his character and at times his motivations weren’t concrete/ didn’t have much of a direction. Denzel Washington though brought in heaps of star power which made the film watchable. He commands the screen. Despite his limited dialogue (though his American accent is a bit questionable in the film) and scenes, every time he comes on, the moment is memorable. Even with his expressions alone. That’s talent. His character Macrinus was the definition of Machiavellian. A true schemer. He’s a man who was enslaved, yet fought his way to freedom, money and power. Who knew all the things he had to do and suffer to get to where he is in Gladiator 2? With that his shady motivations are understandable.
The script though was weak and lacklustre at parts without depth which was reflected in the film. Loved the costumes and set design though. Deserves awards for how fabulous they are. I particularly need all of Macrinus and the emperors- Geta and Caracalla’s jewellery from the film.
As a bit of a history nerd (was my favourite subject at school and when I was younger I thought I’d be a history teacher), I’ve been fascinated with Roman history for a while. Ten years ago, I came across Kate Quinn’s incredible epic book Mistress of Rome at my local library. It’s one of those books that you’ll never forget after reading it and one of my favourites. It’s part of a 4-book saga on powerful women during the height of the Roman empire with the first book being about the Jewish slave girl, Thea who is orphaned by Rome’s violent conquest in Judea. She is sent to Rome and works for a wealthy Roman– who is the organiser of the imperial games, as a slave to his spoiled and troubling daughter Lepida (she becomes a wicked and vicious woman in adulthood). Thea learns how to survive through sheer grit.
She eventually falls in love with a gladiator who shows her a gentle way of living amid all the violence, being a calming balm to her troubles. However, this relationship is cut short and she is once again sold. This time to a brothel. Years later, now known as Athena, she becomes a famed singer whose dark past is a secret. She catches the unwanted eye of the tyrannical and paranoid emperor Domitian and is caught in the decadence, intrigue, violence and depravity of the elite circle of Rome. Athena also becomes part of a plot to kill the emperor.
Mistress of Rome book 1 features many characters, each intriguing with their own agendas. As a reader, you’re swept into this epic and unforgettable historical world. It’s a book that’s perfect for adaptation for the screen. Like an HBO TV series (remember the show Rome?) as they’re great at producing shows on topics like this. It includes everything from political intrigue to murder, romance, etc.
Other books in Kate Quinn’s 4-part Empress of Rome saga include:
Daughters of Rome: 2 - technically it’s book 1 as it’s the prequel to Mistress of Rome and deals with the Year of the Four Emperors (including Domitian’s father Vespasian)
Empress of the Seven Hills: 3
Lady of the Eternal City: 4
The Three Fates is categorised as book 3.5 in the series, coming after Empress of the Seven Hills and before Lady of the Eternal City. A vignette.