NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR (1922)
A Modern Observation of the Silent Vampire Classic
Grade: A+
What can be said about F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula which hasn’t been said by a million other critics and film scholars a million times before? The answer, not much. It’s pretty much become a legend how the late author’s widow sued the filmmakers and sought to have every copy destroyed, only for it to not only become the movie which gave birth to vampire cinema, but also one of the most iconic horror films of all time. While it may not terrify today in the same way it did back in 1922, it is still being watched and talked about. It has spawned not one, but two remakes: one in 1979 by director Werner Herzog (Nosferatu the Vampyre), and the second in 2024 by Robert Eggers. It only makes sense, then, to look back at Nosferatu-Eine Symphonie des Grauens to glean the source of its enduring popularity.
Nosferatu takes the overall plot of Dracula and magnifies its themes of supernatural evil and the dark, centered on Max Schreck’s instantly iconic Dracula stand-in, Count Orlok, or Nosferatu. To this day, Orlok remains one of the creepiest vampires ever put to film. With his thick eyebrows, long nails, pointed ears and two sharp front teeth, he much more closely resembles a rat than a bat. This only makes sense, as he surrounds himself with rats carrying the Black Plague, which he unleashes on the unsuspecting German town of Wisborg.
Schreck makes the most of his limited screen time (Nosferatu proves that keeping the monster off-screen for much of the movie has always been a common practice) by delivering some scenes that are quite frightening even by modern standards. The most famous, of course, is the shot where Orlok’s shadow ascends the staircase to feed on heroine Ellen (Greta Schroder). But just as effective, if not more, is the part where he enters the room of his castle where the hapless Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) is cowering in fear. With his arms at his sides, his expression blank, and his eyes wide open, he walks forward through the tall, narrow doorway. It is here that we get our first good look at his evil (in scenes prior to this, he wore a hat to disguise his bald head and ears). Nosferatu truly looks like some inhuman monster.
But the horror of Nosferatu goes even further than this when one looks behind the scenes. It was intended to be the first in a series of movies centered on the occult, but the German production company, Prana, filed for bankruptcy before any more could be made. The founders of Prana were very entrenched in the occult itself; indeed, one of the producers claimed to have met a farmer during World War I who said his father had become a vampire. And according to the film’s lore, Orlok was made Nosferatu by the demon Belial.
Nosferatu is essentially the baseline for all vampire movies to follow. Eschewing any scientific explanations for its creatures (though there are a few scenes comparing them to natural predators like the Venus flytrap and the microscopic hydra), the filmmakers go back in time to make them as supernatural as possible, perhaps recalling the earliest tales associated with them. For example, according to a book read by Hutter in his adventure, “this same Nosferatu may latch his claws onto his victim and suck for his own infernal life-potion their blood.” We all know vampires drink blood, but where else can you find a story which phrases it like that? Nosferatu can therefore almost be seen as an example of folk horror, bringing the most ancient fears and traditions of vampires to the present. And the antiquated, staticky look of the film today enhances this idea.
Of course, the film also invents some myths about vampires which have become mainstream. The most famous is their aversion to sunlight as, at the climax, Orlok is finally destroyed when he stumbles into a beam of light and vanishes in a puff of smoke. But even this is preceded by superstition as the innocent Ellen, guided by the same book, makes a heroic sacrifice by offering herself up to Orlok, distracting him from the rooster’s cry.
Other viewers can-and have-pointed out the film’s other merits, including its pioneering use of parallel action (the movie cuts back and forth between several scenes, something which was rare at the time). But perhaps, given the film’s content and production, what truly makes it an enduring horror masterpiece is how effectively it taps into mankind’s fear of the unknown, providing a glimpse at what lurks in the darkest parts of our imagination. And it does so by showcasing a truly disturbing villain and only hinting at the infernal powers behind him. This fear is timeless, and that is why the appeal of Nosferatu has been able to last, like its titular antagonist, for more than a century.
Director: F.W. Murnau
Screenplay: Henrik Galeen (from the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker)
Producers: Enrico Dieckmann, Albin Grau
Cast: Max Schreck (Count Orlok), Gustav von Wangenheim (Thomas Hutter), Greta Schroder (Ellen Hutter), Georg H. Schnell (Harding), Gustav Botz (Prof. Sievers), Alexander Granach (Knock), John Gottowt (Prof. Bulwer)
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