196) Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)

Son of Halloween 2024's spectacular and not random vampire movie review extravaganza! (Part One)

Director
F. W. Murnau

Cast

Max Schreck - Count Orlok
Gustav von Wangenheim - Thomas Hutter
Greta Schröder - Ellen Hutter
Alexander Granach - Herr Knock
Georg H. Schnell - Shipowner Harding

Ruth Landshoff - Ruth
John Gottowt - Prof. Bulwer
Gustav Botz - Prof. Sievers

Introduction 

This is my third year in which I dedicate the Halloween season to something monstrous and horrific (as far as movies go). In October of 2022, I watched and reviewed the first 15 Godzilla movies. And I called that set of commentaries, "Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza...For the Love of Godzilla. All Hail, the Monster King!
And then in 2023, I watched all the "Leprechaun" movies for "Halloween 2023's Somehow Leprechauns are Scary... Extravaganza!" Honestly, I don't know why I picked the Leprechaun movies, but I did, and I'm stuck with my decision. 

Now October is upon us once again, and I'm dedicating this season to... vampire movies! 

Dracula, the most famous of vampires, is a major pillar of the horror genre and a huge staple of Halloween. He's still a figure of intrigue that lingers from generation to generation.

In my review of "The Horror of Dracula" from 1952, I wrote about my introduction to Count Dracula during my youth when my family used to take day trips to the Cliff House in San Francisco. 

Anyways, I've already reviewed a fair share of vampire films in the past such, "Mama Dracula" (1980), "Dracula, Sovereign of the Damned" (1980), "Billy the Kid vs Dracula" (1966), "Vampire Burt's Serenade" (2020), "Vampire Circus" (1972), and "Blood of Dracula's Castle" (1969).

But there's a lot more movies out there when it comes to vampires. I wanted to have some method to my madness for this October's "spectacular and random vampire movie review extravaganza." I picked at least one vampire movie, popular or not, from each decade between the 1920s... to however far I get. My goal is at least the early 2000s. And I'm starting with what is perhaps among the greatest of vampire movies ever made. This is "Son of Halloween 2024's Spectacular and Random Vampire Movie Review Extravaganza!"

The Review

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Max Schreck as Count Orlock in "Nosferatu."

Outside of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, "Dracula," the 1922 German expressionist horror film, "Nosferatu" is the start of the never-ending vampire nightmare that has fueled the fear of darkness for millions world-wide for decades. This is the first film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. 

Though the word "Vampire" or the name "Count Dracula" conjures up various images resembling Bela Lugosi in Tod Browning's 1931 classic, "Dracula" with his pale face, slick black hair, black cape and Hungarian accent, it's F. W. Murnau's silent film starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok that sets the foundation as far as vampire movies depictions go. 

The story is pretty much similar to Stoker's novel with some differences of course. 

The story takes place in the fictional town of Wisborg, Germany where Thomas Hutter's (Gustav von Wangenheim) boss, Herr Knock (Alexander Granach) is sending him to Transylvania. 

Knock is a real estate agent, and he wants Thomas to visit with a new client of his who's interested in some property that's right across the street from Thomas's home. That client, by the way, is none other than Count Orlock. 

Before he takes off for Transylvania, Thomas stops at a local pub where he tells some of the locals about his plans to visit with Orlock. 

The locals are terrified to even hear the name, and they warn him not to go.

But Thomas blows off their superstitions. He also snatched a small book from the pub about vampires to read, which he scoffs at and disregards. 

His wife, Ellen (Greta Schröder) is distraught over her husband's departure, worried she may never see him again. 

Once in Transylvania, Thomas is taken by coach to the Count Orlock's castle in the Carpathian mountains. There, he's greeted by Orlock (Max Schreck) himself. 

During supper, Thomas accidentally cuts his finger with a dinner knife. Orlock, who has an insatiable thirst for blood, tries to suck his blood out. Disgusted, Thomas pulls his hand away. 

After, he decides it's best to turn in for the night. But the next morning, he wakes up with two small holes in his neck which he thinks are just really bad mosquito bites. 

Later, Orlock signs the documents necessary to purchase the house in Wisborg. While doing so, he sees a small picture of Ellen on Thomas's desk and comments how lovely her neck is. Weird! 

As Thomas continues his stay at Orlock's castle and reads the vampire manual he stole from the pub, things start to click. His suspicion that Orlock is a vampire begins to grow. 

That night, he tries to block his bedroom door but can't. Orlock approaches and slowly opens his door. So, Thomas hides under his bedsheets and becomes unconscious. 

Back home, Ellen, who misses her Thomas so much, wakes up and begins to sleepwalk. 

Her friend sees her and calls a doctor. Ellen starts calling for her husband and has a vision of Orlock looming over Thomas lying unconscious. 

Later, Thomas goes on a little exploration around the castle. He freaks out when he finds Orlock's coffin with Orlock lying inside it. Hours later, he sees Orlock piling coffins onto the carriage heading for the docs where a ship is going to set sail for Wisborg. Orlock climbs into the last coffin he places on top and waits for the carriage to depart. 

Thomas rushes home as quickly as he can, hoping to get there before the boat does. 

The sailors on board discover a ton of rats hitching a ride with them. Little do they know this is Orlock taking on a different form. 

By the time the boat reaches port, all the sailors are dead, and Orlock is all that's left onboard. 

He takes his coffin under his arm and makes his way to his new home. 

People around Wisborg begin to die mysteriously. Doctors blame it on a plague carried by rats. 

Thomas returns home and reunites with his Ellen.

She also seems to know that the vampire from her nightmares has moved in across the street. What a coincidence!

Ellen finds the vampire book Thomas has and learns that they can be defeated when a pure woman offers herself as a willful victim, and then kill him by exposure to sunlight. Soon, she conjures up a plan to take down Orlock before he takes anymore innocent victims. 

In his book "Classics of the Horror Film" author William K. Everson says, "'Nosferatu" was once aptly described by a critic as "a chilly blast of doomsday...." I've seen this label printed elsewhere but I can't yet find a source. 

However, this is the truest form of the story long before Dracula became a Halloween decoration. 

During World War I, as well as the war's aftermath felt in Germany in the 1920s, what's referred to as Weimar expressionism - a new way of looking at the world - grew popular and landed heavily into German horror films. Hence, German expressionist films like this one were produced. 

With meager budgets compared to that of Hollywood, German film makers looked to more simplistic ways to convey emotion, distinct and surreal atmospheres, and uniquely haunting stories in their movies. There were no lavish costumes, or towering sets, or mind-blowing special effects. Yet these movies left a large permanent impression in the minds of their audiences. Once seen, they couldn't be forgotten. 

Gothic horror quickly sprung from this new portrayal of reality, looking into darker, sinister characteristics of human behavior and the human mind. 

From this concept, films such as "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920), "Phantom" (1922), and "The Last Laugh" (1924) were produced in this period and continue influencing modern horror movie makers today. "Phantom" and "The Last Laugh" were also directed by F. W. Murnau. 

With movies like "Nosferatu" everything on screen is used to add to the horror and fear. 

Fear is very much a visual. No words are needed to convey it to the audience. That's what makes these movies so influential and still very haunting.   

No scene is wasted. Shadow plays in practically every moment, especially in Orlock's scenes. The entire play is meticulously set up with no relief from the trepidation that wafts from scene to scene. 

This, mixed with the vampire's other-worldly dangerous and unpredictable demeanor, gives this silent movie its lasting power. 

The use of shadow is crucial in giving Orlock his nefarious and unearthly characteristics. Camera speeds also give him that supernatural quality. He may have been human once, but evil forces have taken over giving him demonic abilities. Angles and imagery inflict uneasiness. 

The way Orlock moves on screen, and glares menacingly at the audience must have been terrifying for audiences back then. His eyes remain wide open and unblinking as though he sees through your skin and into your veins and thumping heart. 

His scenes are ice cold and intimidating, especially when he roams the ship killing its crew one by one. 

Schreck doesn't play Orlock as the suave and sexy vampire that stems back to Bela Lugosi's depiction. Schreck's vampire is shown as the demonic ghoul that he is.

He is a monster both inside and outside, and that's what makes it terrifying. Even the name "Nosferatu" has an ancient supernatural and evil sound to it. 

The simultaneous stories of Thomas, his wife, and Orlock buying the house are intertwined. It's quite a feat for a silent movie. And there's a hidden clue or two that reveals Knock to be the slave of Orlock as Renfield is in the movie "Dracula." 

It's amazing how big of a presence Orlock can have in a silent film. His mannerisms and supernatural movements done through early special effects keep their impressive effectiveness. 

I love this movie for its atmosphere and for Schreck's performance. 

"Nosferatu" has managed to fix itself in pop culture distinct from the classic image of Count Dracula. He's still around. 

I watched this for the first time back in May, and images from this film have stuck with me. German horror expression has that lasting power. I spoke about it when I reviewed another horror film, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." Images in both these files are truly haunting in the truest meaning of the word. 

Schreck has an impressive ability to create a creature that is daunting and terrifying in all of his screen time. It's the stuff of cinematic legend. 

Schreck's performance is depicted in the 2000 film "Shadow of the Vampire" which tells the backstage story about the filming of "Nosferatu" and the suspicions the film crew had about Schreck based on how seriously he took his performance as the vampire. Willem Defoe plays Schreck in that movie, which I'm now anxious to see. 

Werner Herzog directed a remake in 1979 called "Nosferatu the Vampyre." It stars Klaus Kinski as the vampire, who is called Count Dracula rather than Count Orlock. Kinski also plays a vampire called Nosferatu in another movie which I'll post in this review series. 

It's also fitting I review this movie now as a remake called "Nosferatu," starring Bill Skarsgård and directed by Robert Eggers is scheduled to hit theaters December of this year. The trailer was released Sept. 29. 

No doubt a lot has been said about "Nosferatu." For an early horror movie, it doesn't hold back nor does it waste a moment to arouse both fear and a loathing for evil.