MUBI

The version with English title cards still names the characters Harker, Mina, Renfield, and Van Helsing. And you can see that the story holds very closely to Bram Stoker’s original novel except that Bremen is substituted as Harker’s home town where Count Orlok journey’s for fresh blood. This version of Renfield (Granach) is absolutely mad and I thought much more entertaining. However Harker (Wangenheim) still has his proper place in the story as the one who journeys to the Count’s castle, nearly loses his life there, and must return to save Mina from the clutches of Nosferatu. It has been stated many times before that this portrayal of the most famous vampire is very rat-like. In fact the supernatural vampire legend can be understood as an explanation for the natural, but tragic spread of the plague. Lots of creepy moments, but I thought it really dragged in the third act.

I just revisited this gorgeous twilight tale of old and it keeps surprising me. Great performances and even greater editing.

I consider this more than just a classic horror film, for me this is living proof than fear is indeed one of our most primal instincts, so much so that we call for it the very moment any new art form is born.

I still don’t know what impresses me more about this film, the fact that at moments it can still give you the chills after almost a hundred years after it’s creation or the way it manages to express it’s atmosphere, think about this: Due to technical limitations it was almost impossible to film night scenes outdoors, so no matter it is day or night you always see that yellowish tone. Night and day are the same for the viewer. There’s no escape, and the sense of drear grows and grows by the minute.

A tour de force for anyone even barely interested in horror movies and a mandatory lesson in atmosphere creation that is more alive than ever before.