You Can Watch The Original Nosferatu For Free Ahead Of Bill Skarsgard's Remake

One of the most highly anticipated horror movies of the year is coming our way very soon as director Robert Eggers' "Nosferatu," which stars Bill Skarsgård as the title character, hits theaters on Christmas Day. This one has been a longtime coming, with the filmmaker behind "The Witch" and "The Northman" (see where those movies fell in our Robert Eggers ranking) promising to put his stamp on this horror classic for some time. To that end, for those who haven't seen the original 1922 "Nosferatu," aka "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror," now is the perfect time to do just that. More importantly, those who wish to watch it can currently do so for free.

More than 100 years ago, director F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" helped define vampire cinema. It's both one of the most important and influential horror movies of all time, so it's reasonable to say it's also well worth watching before seeing Eggers' take on the material. Fortunately, it's a matter of just the few clicks of a button, with no need to bust out the ol' credit card or subscribe to anything to check it out at the moment.

The easiest way to watch "Nosferatu" is on YouTube, where it's streaming for free right now. The only catch is an occasional ad break, but it's hard to beat the low, low price of free 99. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The film is also streaming for free on Tubi, JustWatchTV, Hoopla, AMC Theatres On Demand, Canopy, Crackle, Plex, and more. The point being, it's not hard to find. So no need to rent it on VOD, unless one wishes to.

It's a nice reminder that there are plenty of free streaming services out there. Tubi, in particular, has been making a lot of headway in recent years. The endless string of services hardcore movie lovers need to subscribe to just to keep up is exhausting. Thankfully, especially for lovers of classic cinema, there are plenty of free options out there. Speaking of hardcore movie fans though, if anyone is interested, the remastered Blu-ray edition of "Nosferatu" is available on Amazon.

There have been many, many takes on the Dracula legend in the 100 plus years since this movie's release. The vampire genre has also seen quite a few attempted reinventions, with movies like "From Dusk Till Dawn" taking things in a wildly different direction. All of this to say, Eggers has a bit of a stacked deck when it comes to providing another satisfying reinvention of the Dracula mythos. But if any modern filmmaker working in horror today can do it, it's him.

Eggers' "Nosferatu" also features an all star cast that includes Nicholas Hoult ("Mad Max: Fury Road"), Lily-Rose Depp ("The Idol"), Aaron Taylor-Johnson ("Kraven the Hunter"), Emma Corrin ("Deadpool & Wolverine"), and Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man: No Way Home"). As mentioned earlier, it's set to reach theaters on December 25, 2024. You can read the official synopsis for the film below.

"Nosferatu" is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.