NOSFERATU (1922)

04.03.23

The story of Nosferatu is incredibly reminiscent of Bram Stoker’s Dracula due to it being a loose adaptation of the original source material. Although there are notable differences between the two versions of the story, the basic theme of Nosferatu expands on those from Dracula by making Count Orlok representative of death as opposed to pure evil incarnate. Since he is never given a definitive motivation for carrying out his atrocious deeds of villainy, it helps cement that he is simply a plague on those that happen to be near him on his voyage to the small town of Wisborg, Germany. Additionally, an overwhelming plethora of rats are often seen scattering around his feet on several occasions, which only enhances his repulsiveness.

In my opinion, the most notable use of production design from Nosferatu stems from  Count Orlok’s castle. While the compound is very clearly ginormous in scale, nearly every inch of the environment is visibly old, rotting and decaying. Seeing as how Count Orlok is the only known being currently living in the castle, the current condition of the fortress is only a further  depiction of him quite literally being viewed as an entity of death. In addition, the castle grounds being surrounded by a lively rich forest creates a metaphorical perception in which Count Orlok and his kingdom represent decomposition amongst a lively and spirited society. 

Similarly to the vast majority of silent films that were released during the same era, Nosferatu's cinematography is presented in an 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Since this film is classified within the horror genre and creates uneasy feelings of tension and suspense throughout its runtime, the aspect ratio helps to solidify those aching emotions of anxious paranoias by locking the viewer inside an enclosed space. With there also being a very rare emphasis on close-up shots, the cinematography allows for its iconography to be fully displayed, and most importantly for Count Orlok to be shown towering above his surroundings. 

I found the film’s editing to be especially subtle during my multiple viewings of the film. While the film itself is never presented in a stylized or flashy manner, that works in favor of the horrific themes of imagery portrayed throughout. The editing allows room for an abundant variety of elongated, drawn out long takes to occur whenever Count Orlok is on screen. Since the film is refusing to cut away from the depicted horrors in front of the viewer, that in turn helps the film to become more creepy in nature by making him even more threatening.

Since there is an non-existent usage of sound design in Nosferatu due to the film being silent, the only notable instance of sound that does come from the film is from the composed original score. During the film’s early scenes with Hutter and his wife Ellen, the score creates emotions of a whimsical romance as the viewer is shown their affection for one another. This in turn allows for an effortless juxtaposition for scenes that contain Count Orlok or feature other characters talking about him. During these scenes the score noticeably becomes much more haunting, dreadful, and rambunctious.

When viewing an acting performance from any silent film, there is a specific lens it must be analyzed with due to the limitations bestowed upon them. To make up for the inability to speak, actors in silent films often exaggerate their body language in order to convey more expressionism in their characters. Part of the reason as to why Max Schreck’s performance as Count Orlok still manages to remain frightening to this day is all because of his physical performance. With the exclusion of his horrendous-looking makeup, his limited and stiff body language instantaneously help convey that Count Orlok is an outcast from the rest of society. 

It is impossible to undermine the cultural significance of Nosferatu. Apart from being loosely adapted from Bram Stoker's original novel Dracula, other film adaptations of Nosferatu include Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre and Robert Eggers’s upcoming Nosferatu. Additionally, the physical appearance of Count Orlok himself has managed to become ingrained into pop culture to where he’s instantly recognizable in other pieces of media not serving as an adaptation of Stoker’s original novel. The most notable example of this is perhaps his appearance during the finale episode of Spongebob Squarepants entitled Graveyard Shift, which portrays him in a very comedic manner that serves as a clear parody of the character. All of this certainly provides credence in the fact that Count Orlok’s story is capable of remaining timeless due to constant revitalizations and reimaginings by waves of storytellers from every new generation.