Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (German: Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens) is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok.
To be honest, i wasn't a huge fan of this movie on my first watch. its such a massive departure from any other movie you have ever seen, it can be jarring going in blind. Now I'm older, perhaps wiser, so lets give this movie its moment in the sun.
What better way to celebrate my 400th movie review than to watch a Hundred year old movie?
In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen. After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok's servant, Knock, prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.
if you remember the HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL review, that movie starts with a pitch black screen and the sounds of ghosts being played all around you. this movie opens the same way with a black screen and the overture, and its a damn good way to open a horror movie. of course back then they had a whole orchestra playing the sound live while somebody hand cranked the camera, but you can easily imagine that dreadful feeling when all the lights go out. Even though The world's earliest surviving motion-picture film was 1888's Roundhay Garden Scene, you can tell that there wasn't a clear difference yet between acting for the stage and for the camera. most of this movies acting is cartoonish and over the top, and it really helps create the feeling that this is all some terribly dark fairytale nightmare the closer we get to Orlok's castle. which takes awhile...
Perhaps it simply because this is one of the 2 silent films i have ever seen, but i have hard time giving these movies my full attention. if you know the story of Dracula you know all the story beats, so its basically a waiting game for spooky goodness. its so similar in fact that shortly after the film’s debut in 1922, Bram Stoker’s estate filed suit claiming the film was an infringement. Since early versions of the film still included the Dracula name, proving the derivative nature of the work was not difficult and Grau was forced to both declare bankruptcy and close Prana Film, making Nosferatu the company’s only release.
it kind of reminds of how in BEETLEJUICE you get less than 20 minutes of the titular character, and in Nosferatu they really make you wait to see Nosferatu. but when Count Orlok makes his first appearance, I'm glued to the screen. He is just as cartoonish as most of the other actors, but his creepy as fuck screen presence is undeniable. in his human disguise we actually get a few scenes that made me laugh, but his vampire scenes are nothing to laugh at.
TLDR: Each time i watch this movie i like it a little bit more, but i still cant really say im a big fan of this movie.
8/10
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