Nosferatu
No matter what incarnation they come in, there is no denying that vampires are scary stuff. At the very heart of it, the idea that a human beast crawls in the shadows and feasts on our blood is pretty terrifying. Especially, because after the attack, you are either turned into one of them or left for dead. Immortality as a monster or well, dead? It’s not really a choice. The night will never be the same as long as creatures roam it with their romantic enticing and enchantments. The most chilling movie to convey it, that still preys on your mind over 90 years after its first showing. I’m talking about the vampires’ debut into cinema from German silent movie Nosferatu.
If you read that and just sat back, going “what is she talking about?” Then you have my permission to plant your face in your palms. This 1922 movie set in the forests and mountains of Germany has been a grand influence on filmmakers and modern horror movies. Based loosely on Dracula, it tells the story of Thomas Hutter, basically an estate agent who is sent to a grand castle in Transylvania. Owned by count Orlok, Hutter stays a couple of days to assess the situation. Low and behold, Orlok is discovered to be a vampire and Hutter races back home to save his town before Orlok arrives and destroys them all.
So from that story, you can tell, it is definitely Dracula. Unfortunately, this was the case. Prana Films could not obtain the rights to the story and were forced to alter a few names. Yet the heirs of Stoker and his estate felt the story far close resembled the movies and sued the company, destroying all but one copy of the movie. Prana Films went bankrupt and this was the only movie that they ever did. If they could see its influence; the many prints now around, the wildly strong reviews and the cult following, they would keep making movies.
Nosferatu is by far one of the greatest vampire movies. The German Expressionist movie is filled with ghostly images. The most iconic is when Orlok walks up the stairs, his shadow lit by candlelight as his arched back and pointed features stalking the walls. His entrancement with Ellen, Hutter’s wife, and his need to feast on her blood is one of the creepiest cinematic images that prickle the fear. The textures, the lines, the shots are all greatly put together. Orlok isn’t a beautiful vampire. He is hideous plagued by his curse but embodies it to become much more of legendary demon. Max Schlek’s portrayal of Orlok, his movements, slithers through the screen, right into your nightmares and send chills down your spine.
I believe the first showing of this would have been terrifying. Composer Hans Erdmann sat and played his orchestration while the projection played. Most of this has been lost but its reconstruction still lives. Despite this, to live in 1922’s Germany and watch that first horror movie in its full glory would have been outstanding. Yet, it has been nearly a centuary since it was released, the time has actually heightened the experience. The imperfection only entices the fear. Roger Ebert put it correctly, while there aren’t the thrills and jumps you would have in a modern telling, this movie still has fright.
The imagery, the acting, the cinematography and the score; it is more terrifying than any vampire movie you’ll watch.
TTFN
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