Vampires Week: Nosferatu (1922)

Nosferatu

Call No: PN1997 .N663 2002

Note: This is a silent film. Written dialogue and story is in English.

You can’t very well have a proper vampire week without watching Nosferatu. Made in 1922, this silent film is the first film based on Bram Stroker’s classic novel, Dracula. And what vampire week would be complete without the grandfather of all vampires?

Hutter is a pleasant and happy man who works in a real estate office. When his boss tells him that the wealthy Count Orlok wants to move into their quiet village, Hutter must travel to Transylvania to try and sell him a house – one that happens to be right across from Hutter’s. It isn’t long before Hutter discovers that something isn’t quite right about the Count, but it’s too late. It becomes a race of who can get back to the town first, especially when the Count owns the house across the street and has his sights set on Hutter’s wife, Ellen.

Some people may have a hard time getting past the fact that this is a silent film, not to mention it was originally shot in black and white (more on that later). Although it tends to be a bit jumpy at some parts in terms of story and introducing random characters, the film has its own unique way of presenting an interesting story despite its limitations. While the older version would have been solely black and white, there are shades of colour that have been overlaid on the scenes to help indicate the time of day (which was the peak of special effects at the time). Scenes that take place during the day are sepia-toned (brownish red), while the night time scenes are tinted blue. While the dialogue isn’t the most engaging, the story cards used for plot or to show pages from books shown onscreen are exceptional for the time. It’s impressive for what it is from a technical standpoint, considering the time that it came from.

Somebody's hungry.

In terms of vampires, the character of Nosferatu isn’t the shining and charismatic pinnacle of vampiredom that one might expect. Dracula is a charming and seductive character. Nosferatu is not. He isn’t attractive to look at and moves about awkwardly. He doesn’t shape shift and has to take transportation to get where he’s going like everyone else. If he wants to go anywhere he has to take a coffin full of the earth he was buried in with him, the place from which he draws his strength to rise at night. But what Nosferatu doesn’t have in terms of seduction or sneakiness, he makes up for in being scary. At first look, the Count is a tall, gangly and awkward person. As the film progresses, Nosferatu becomes more and more sinister. His incredible powers of mind control and telekinesis make him frightening. He may not be the Dracula we all know, but he’s far from being non-threatening.

Overall the film is very good for what it is – a vintage piece of film history. An interesting thing to note: this film is the reason for the popular culture myth that sunlight is deadly to vampires. Not wanting to be accused of stealing from Dracula without permission, the story was changed slightly to incorporate the myth that sunlight can kill vampires. As a result, the myth has been around ever since.

Whether or not it actually works is another story.