Nosferatu the Vampyre - Movie Review

‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ wherein director Werner Herzog tells the story of Jonathan Harker travelling to Transylvania. A real estate agent named Harker plans to help a buyer, Count Dracula, purchase a house to live in Wismar; however, the vampire, Count Dracul comes into town, meaning sickness and horror. As the tale progresses, Harker’s wife, Lucy becomes the focal character in the fight against Dracula’s domination and fights against the malevolent force that threatens the town.

The horror, eroticism, and relentless suffering are all incorporated in the movie making a gothic suspenseful tone in the film. Telegraphed from the start of Herzog’s perspective of ‘The elemental fight of good against evil and of man against nature,’ Bad Lieutenant is a cruel and pressing commentary on the human spirit and ability for survival in spite of man’s enduring evil and oppressive force on others and on oneself. Despite this, the constant reference to the plague brings the film to a higher level, turning into a reflection on human vulnerability and time.

Klaus Kinski gives an unforgettable performance as Count Dracula, sadistic and dangerous at the same time. His physicality is powerful and yet profoundly pathetic, which is what the centuries of loneliness of the vampire lore. Isabelle Adjani does a splendid job portraying the role of Lucy; she has the aspect of innocence and determination in her acting. I would recommend two male actors for the two male roles: Bruno Ganz for Jonathan Harker with an excellent portrayal of a man turning into a vampire, mad wolves in an empty wilderness.

Speaking of the film’s director, I believe Werner Herzog could not be surpassed: he is an author’s director who shoots the film’s picture, Gothic architecture, and nature with an artistic view of the world. His direction is greatly centered on tone, he offers the audience a feeling rather than a show. Herzog really did an excellent job shooting scenes of the sublime amidst the horrifying and macabre; Anson’s sounds also complement the film through the use of music from Popol Vuh. The music takes away what little emotion and tension were left, and gives the game the sort of melodious eerie feel. Herzog’s vision is well supported by Schmidt-Reitwein’s cinematography and thus combines to give an unforgettable experience in terms of the senses. Every shot is well composed, from the pastoral Romanian countryside to the tight quarters of the castle belonging to the vampire Count. The aesthetic of ‘Nosferatu’ is terrific; it conveys the overall mood of the society standing at the precipice of hopelessness. It must be pointed that despite the malevolence of Dracula, the gloominess of his castle and the gothic aesthetics of the movie, hope abounds in the lively and beautiful town of Wismar – another source of contrast between life and death, order and chaos.

Speaking of Extras , it should be noted that the movie employs special effects sparingly, but effectively when it comes to the supernatural scenes. The elements depicting Dracula and the spread of plague over the entire town give eerie incidence to the movie and adds to the mystique and suspense of the movie .

Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus’s editing style adds a great deal of cohesion to the film. Tension is managed depending on when the major twisters and suspense points are to be shown; this pacing leaves much of the eeriness of the film to set the stage. This might not sit well for audiences who expect the horror conventionalities but subverts viewers’ expectation to make the movie way more profound in terms of the narrative’s emotional and thematic core. The lines are said deliberately to the rhythm to which the film resembles a dream squirrel, and almost a hypnotic state.

Thus, ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ may be too atmospheric to be a good horror movie; it is rather slow and has not much action onscreen. The movie uses very symbolic and at the same time poetic conception – this can cause some confusion though the viewers who will be ready to appreciate aesthetics of the picture will be amply rewarded. The film’s strong performances and the well-constructed setting still remain vaguely unsettling even as the lights go up. Such movie deserves to be watched by fans of gothic horror that affects and takes the spirit into the other world.