Ephemeris of the Mind (Film Review) Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror [Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens]
Time to read: 2 min read
Movie Poster
Beware that his shadowe weigheth not upon you life a terrible nightmare.
Review
Nosferatu is a silent German Expressionist horror film that is inspired by the story of Dracula (which the director, Murnau, was not able to secure the rights to). Bram Stoker's heirs sued over this adaptation and all copies of the film were ordered destroyed. Luckily, some copies survived and this influential film lives on. There are several versions of the film differing in certain aspects, such as the background music (most of the original live orchestral score has been lost) and the film remastering. I watched this version on Youtube.
In the film, Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) is tasked by his employer to visit a new client named Count Orlok (Max Schreck). Things quickly go awry and Hutter finds himself in dire predicaments.
I am conflicted about this film; let’s start with the positives. This film is iconic and one of the milestones of cinematic history. The visuals are my favourite aspects of the film; the gothic setting and Schreck’s horrifying facial acting both portray an air of threat and uneasiness. This film seeps history; many aspects of the film, such as the sexual and horror undertones, may seem benign by today’s standards but they were groundbreaking during Murnau’s time. The background organ music helped perpetuate the unease during scenes and I actually enjoyed the poetic quotes displayed on-screen between scenes.
On the other hand, this film is dated and the age shows. The attempted special effects, unsurprisingly, did not age well. My biggest qualm with the film is that it just wasn’t engaging as a form of entertainment; the pacing was very slow and the silent aspect of the film prevented the audience from overly identifying with each character. Overall if you were planning to watch it for fun, then you’ll be grossly disappointed as the film is unengaging by today’s standards. If you were watching it to analyze and learn about silent films, then this film is an excellent source of knowledge.
Conclusion
An iconic but dated film.