Nosferatu
Name: Nosferatu
Directed By: F.W. Murnau
Subgenre: Classic, Creature Feature
Series: Spooktober 2018 entry #28
Review: A bit of history, first. Nosferatu was a German, unofficial and unapproved adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula with the serial numbers filed off, namely the character of Count Dracula becoming Count Orlok. The Stoker estate sued the film company and it was ruled that every copy of Nosferatu was to be destroyed--a few were hidden away and the film would later become a cult classic. If you're not familiar with either tale, the story follows a real estate agent who is sent to Transylvania to meet with a prospective buyer whose mere name happens to cause fear in the locals. And, like many modern landlords*, the agent quickly finds out that Count Orlok is out for blood. It's a pillar of horror cinema; it's stylish and with entertaining melodramatic flair with the Expressionist elements common to that period of film shining through (as shadows, as it were). But, is Nosferatu actually scary? That's a bit of a loaded question, and one so often used as a means often used to beat back against anything that breaks the mold, challenges the common horror template, or immediately grab the viewer's attention. To the modern viewer at the very least, Nosferatu barely registers as a creepy movie save for a very few scenes (which are commonly viewed as masterfully examples of creeping dread, the looming terror of evil lurking ever so close). Yet, that leaves us begging the question: was Nosferatu scary to audiences back in the 20s? Ultimately, horror movies do not need to scare you in order to be "legitimate" films; horror, as a genre, is a means to evoke a range of related but different emotions: fear, terror, disgust, and the aforementioned dread. Nosferatu is not particularly scary, but Count Orlok's shadow slithering over walls and creeping ever closer is enough to give most pause and command the attention of modern viewers, even if only long enough to think "that's neat." Regardless of whether you expect to be scared or not, Nosferatu represents a pivotal moment in horror history, and every aficionado should at least pay their respects to it at some point. You don't need to watch the film to know the story, but your knowledge of the plot is likely, in part, due to film's cultural impact in the first place.
Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 Chads hiding from the shadows. Did Nosferatu scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Bit of a peak behind the veil here, but this was one of the most difficult ratings I've had to make thus far, even more so then the bizarre, surreal, and surprisingly deep Death Bed: the Bed that Eats. As mentioned in the review, the film does little to evoke particular strong feelings associated with horror by itself, but it remains a good movie and helped create the quintessential vampire template that is still being riffed on today. The film employs some masterful techniques that are still interesting to watch today, but it remains very much a product of its time. It's something that I simultaneously believe every horror enthusiast should watch as well as something that most horror fans will, frankly, be bored by. I'll let you decide the line between horror fan and horror aficionado.
IMDB: Here
How to Watch: Nosferatu is available on these platforms.
Official Trailer
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