Review of Nosferatu (1922) by Danny R — 25 Jul 2015

The silent era's most memorable horror film, and the grandfather of the cinematic vampire genre. German expressionist director F.W. Murnau's brilliantly eerie, imaginative masterpiece, which tells the tale of a master vampire named Count Orlok, played sensationally by Max Schreck, who achieves screen immortally with his unforgettable turn here, and adds his own brand of vampiric perversity.

He wants to purchase an isolated house, so he sends for an estate agent from Germany to his castle in Transylvania to make a deal. When the agent arrives and sells the house to the Count, he notices that he begins to feel uneasy, and strange occurrences start to happen, the agent becomes trapped in the castle, while the count hiding in a shipment of Coffins, makes his way to Germany where causes many deaths, which is blamed on a plague.

Well-crafted, and directed by Murnau, with superb makeup by Albin Grau, who gives Schreck his fearsome features which includes, rat's teeth, bat ears, claw-like hands, bulging eyes and a death-like ghostly pallor.

This inspired, superbly atmospheric motion picture is an unauthorized adaptation of Brams Stoker's "Dracula," with names and other details changed, it remains a true horror classic.