Review of Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) by Corey B — 25 Apr 2010

Hypnotic in a way that I haven't experienced from a film in a long time...not since There Will Be Blood, I'd be so bold as to say. It's so beautiful, but in an utterly simple and unshowy way, without lighting tricks or long lingering shots, well-represented as the work of a man who KNOWS he is an artist and does not have to prove it to anyone. Also like There Will Be Blood, there's an odd little feint at black humor that keeps the movie from feeling totally self-serious, though it works better at some junctures than others, such as that dick playing Renfield. So annoying, and definitely not in a good way...more like a "shrill, affected, embarrassing" way. He really interferes with the mood of the piece, but even setting him aside, I don't think the movie is perfect. The thin, unfocused plot is sort of a distraction, and though I understand that the style is the main draw here, why not go full-blown surrealist? There's obviously a commercial hook to consider here, and as bizarre as it is to think about, this was probably an event of some magnitude back in the late 70s. Ah, remember when auteurs not named Quentin Tarantino could actually draw a crowd?

Klaus Kinski is an odd, tragic Dracula, possessed of both silence and carnality. His pain is apparent but it makes him no less of a monster. Isabelle Adjani is ravishing, a presence so luminous that her purpose as a Dracula beacon seems only too clear. There's an interesting protagonist structure going on in Dracula where Lucy, Jonathan and Dracula all seem to take turns being the movie's center of attention. Though it does contribute to the movie's odd focus problem, it gives the movie the chance to re-lens itself through the perspectives of each of its characters. Jonathan is an explorer in the savage wilds of Transylvania, Dracula a shadow lurking in the night to sow the seeds of plague, Lucy a frightened but resolute heroine. The movie's tone is so diverse and captivating. A definite horror classic.