Nosferatu

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Classic Horror Special

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Here's one title on this list that I was really looking forward to watching. The creepy, strange look that Count Orlok bears is something that could very well be seen as creepy by today's standards. On top of that, the idea of an old, silent film take on the story of 'Dracula' appeals to me. Truth be told, the only version of it that I've seen was '92's adaptation, directed by the legendary Coppola, and starring the legendary John Wick with a terrible accent.

For those unfamiliar with the story, here are some bare basics, according to this rendition. Knock (Alexander Granach), an estate agent from a small town of Wisbourg receives a commission from one Count Orlok (Max Schreck) to find a house. Knock sends his assistant, Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to Orlok's castle, in the Carpathian Mountains, with instructions to get him to buy the vacancy next to Hutter's house.

​The Count is all too pleased to buy the property, but upon all the paperwork getting signed, Hutter starts to realize what he's dealing with. Orlok soon locks him up, and sneaks on board a ship towards Wisbourg. Hutter, now worrying about the Count going after her, manages to escape and heads home ASAP to try to prevent the worst,

All in all, I must admit that I get more from something more recent. Although this manages to carry a pretty creepy atmosphere with it, it's kinda comedic by today's standards. So much of this comes from Schrek's portrayal as the Count, as his facial expressions are almost always completely wide-eyed, with a strange look of surprise. I couldn't help but find myself laughing at a lot of it, though for 1922, his makeup would have been pretty damn scary to general audiences.

Although 'Dracula' from 1931 would pretty much become widely known as the best classic adaptation, one should keep in mind that this silent version came first, and still manages to tell the basic story rather decently. There's an atmosphere to this one that remains kinda creepy in its own right, and I feel like that's what really sells it. Though kinda funny to look at now, you can imagine what it must have been like to look at that makeup job back then. Let's not leave out how nicely written it is, either.

This is generally narrated from the diary of historian Johann Cavallius, who gets into the idea of the Plague, and weather or not it was the Nosferatu brought the plague to Bremen in 1838. This is one of a few takes on the 'Dracula' story being associated with Plague, which is something I can appreciate that I wasn't altogether familiar with until this film. I probably haven't been paying close enough attention to realize either way, but I do enjoy that take on things.

Still widely regarded as a classic, I can join in the masses and highly recommend this for some good Halloween viewing. There's definitely a certain charm to this one, in the classic horror sense. It's definitely pretty creepy, but in an accidentally humorous way. So all in all, it's something fun to watch for the season, or have on in the background for visuals for a Halloween party.

4/5

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