Review of Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) by Al M — 06 Aug 2010
Herzog's remake of Murnau's classic silent vampire film never quite achieves the unnerving majesty and creepiness of the original, but it creates its own brand of brooding horror. Herzog again teams up with the amazingly mad Klaus Kinski who plays Count Dracula (Herzog drops the names from Murnau's film, which were used to avoid copyright disputes with Bram Stoker's novel).
Herzog creates a vision of nature in conflict with society--fogs and clouds harbor other worlds and infiltrate the mind, and we watch as society slowly begins to crumble. Herzog focuses upon the disintegration of society in the town, which becomes like an image of bedlam, as the vampire's curse claims victim after victim.
Plus, Herzog throws some twists into the story that you might not expect. Overall, it is a masterful interpreation of the story that uses artistry to create a creepy vibe in which nature itself seems to be haunted and waiting to sink its teeth into us.
Simultaneously, Kinski portrays Dracula as a man as well as a demon, a man who is torn apart by immortality and who lurches sadly through the ages in the dark and alone. It is a powerfully existential portrayal of the human condition and one of the truly great interprestations of the character of Count Dracula.
This review of Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) was written by Al M on 06 Aug 2010.
Nosferatu the Vampyre has generally received very positive reviews.
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