Nosferatu

Title: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror)
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Horror
Starring: Max Schreck
Language: German

To continue with my "F.W. Marnau" theme, I can't forget this masterpiece of a film, "Nosferatu". Although it retains the basic plot keys of "Bram Stoker's Dracula", I don't think the film makers wanted to truly adapt the novel, but got an inspiration and made something different, in a good way that is. This film is the most realistic and best vampire film I have ever seen. There's always an eerie feeling that manifests itself every time "Count Orlock" (Schreck) appears on screen. Just watching him makes us forget anything related to acting or the actor, but we are spellbinded by "It". Forget the whole captivating, attractive, and seductive vampires we see on screen, replace them with plague and disease and the ugliness of nightmares. This film proves to us, yet again, how "Marnau" is a master of representation.

Let us say that "Marnau" and the writer of the film, "Henrik Galeen", had planned to trace back the vampire legend to its original form, utilizing some elements of the novel. This might sound as a weird justification, especially to those who have read my previous reviews, but watching the film will let you understand why. "Marnau" was splendid in creating a haunting atmosphere. It's like having a walk in a creepy dark forest at midnight, the idea of some evil is hiding and lurking with malice never departs from our mind. The possibility of what will/might happen irks us. For instance the iconic scene of Orlock's shadow as in the stairway is the best proof of that. While basically the majority of vampire film directors tend to bombard the film with "vampire clichés", "Marnau" created something unique, yet faithful, something that will continue to cast its shadows on basically all the horror films that follows, and vampire films to be specific. For instance, how often do we encounter a film scene that basically changed the whole view of vampires? The final scene alone lead to the rise of a new concept, it's basically impossible to deny its influence. The film is filled with iconic scenes, the whole presence is ominous.

Not often we find actors that are actually exhibiting real fear in horror films, but we did here. It's easy for us to see that the other cast members were genuinely frightened by the presence of "Count Orlock". "Schreck" is that convincing in his role. If it's a well proven fact that he's a true vampire, something I will deal with in my next review, I won't be surprised. Just he being there is enough. This is something many of the modern films lack, conviction. While many film makers try so hard to put on a convincing show, utilizing all the methods they can get their hands on, they still fail to deliver such a result. There was no flamboyance in the representation here, if the plague had a personification, then "Max Schreck" as "Count Orlock" would be the perfect one. While the other actors did their roles the best they can, none of them is as memorable as "Max". It should be noted that "schreck" means "terror" or "fright" in German, something that that was delivered; even for modern viewers the film is haunting.

This shall always remain an unyielding classic. Watching it will tell us how groundbreaking it is, and of course the influence it had on the horror industry. Any self-respecting movie fan and horror fan to be specific should watch this. Even if it's from 1922, I really wasn't annoyed. "Marnau" brought a symphony of horror to the screen, and "Count Orlock" made it more macabre. I won't feel reluctant to call this the best and most realistic vampire film ever made, nor will I feel bothered to watch it again.