249. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)

Nosferatu, eine Symhonie des Grauens (1922)

Starring: Max Schreck

Gustav von Wangenheim

Great Schroder

IMDb Rating: 7.9

MY Rating: 8

"Blood, your precious blood."

The word nosferatu as we know it today, is synonymous with the word vampire. The actual origin of the word is unknown. Some believe that it was a Romanian word meaning directly "vampire". Others believe it was derived from the Greek word nosophoros, which means "disease bearing." We do know that the word gained it's notoriety through Bram Stoker's vampire novel Dracula. Stoker sites British author Emily Gerard as the source for the word. She is said to have first used it in a magazine article in the publication Transylvania Superstitions. She said,"More decidedly evil is the nosferatu, or vampire, in which every Romanian peasant believes as firmly as he does in heaven or hell."

Nosferatu, eine Symhonie des Grauens (Nosferatu, Symphony of Horror) is a German vampire film loosely based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. It tells the story of Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim), who is sent to Transylvania by his boss to visit a Count Orlok (Max Schreck). Count Orlock is interested in buying a home in Hutter's town of Wisborg. On his journey to Translyvania, Hutter stays at an inn where he is discouraged from visiting Orlock. When Hutter finally arrives at Orlok's castle, Orlok invites him in for dinner. At dinner, Hutter cuts his thumb with a knife and Orlok walks to his side declaring "blood, your precious blood." Hutter is horrified and moves away from Orlok.

The next day Orlok signs papers to the house in Wisborg. While in Hutter's room, Orlok sees a picture of Hutter's wife Ellen. He is instantly mesmerized by her, and her neck. The next day, Hutter explores the castle. He finds Orlok sleeping in a coffin filled with soil. He retreats to his room in time to see Orlok loading coffins onto a carriage. Orlok climbs into the last coffin, and the carriage leaves. Hutter attempts to escape out of a window, but falls to the ground hurting himself and knocking himself unconscious. Meanwhile, Orlok's coffin travels down a river on a barge and then is transported onto a ship headed for Wisborg. Hutter awakes in a hospital. He soon recovers and heads home. Who will reach Wisborg first? Will Ellen and the town of Wisborg be safe from the creature that is Count Orlok?

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Nosferatu. It is a silent film with no dialogue, other than the occasional word or phrases that appear on the screen. The film almost feels as though you are spying on all of the characters from afar. You can't hear what they are saying, yet you can see what is going on. Max Schreck is incredibly creepy as Count Orlok. It is said that director F. W. Murnau found Schreck so ugly, that only the pointy ears were needed to create the creature. Even though Count Orlok is rarely seen, each time he appears, it is as haunting as the next. The moment that he is found on the ship and rises from his coffin is iconic and chilling.

Since the film was made in the 1920's, special effects were at a minimum. That in no way hurts this film. Most of the film was shot in the daytime, which would normally leave all the day and night shots looking exactly the same. Instead, all of the daytime shots have a sepia-tone filter and the night shots have a blue filter. By doing this, the director achieves a sense of trust from the audience during the daytime. During the night time, you don't know what to expect. This has been a staple of the horror genre for the past eighty years. It is wonderful how something this simple can achieve so much.

It is a nice change to see a film about the vampire-lore that I love. With the recent teenage fascination with a certain film and book series, which will not be named, vampires are becoming a novelty more than anything. Hopefully, with films like Let the Right One In and Chan-wook Park's Thirst, vampire films can experience a true resurgence. In the meantime, we can look back at Nosferatu as one of, if not the best, vampire films ever made.