Rent Nosferatu (1922)

completly terrifying! - Nosferatu review by CP Customer

I was amazed and dazilled by the spectacular camera work of this film, i didn't expect a film to have been made so soon after the invention of cinema to be so amazingly sophisticated that it rivals todays achievements. Marnau certainly knew a creepy shot and how to go about creating it, no other film of any sort has ever frightened me this much.

Wonderful, a universal must see!

Landmark Horror. - Nosferatu review by Steve

This is absolutely integral to the history of the horror film, though made at the dawn of the genre. It was adapted from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. But without permission, so the names and locations are changed. This is the tale of Count Orlok who travels from his castle in Transylvania to the medieval town of Wisborg in 1838, leaving a trail of pestilence and death.

The narrative alterations are improvements. This is really pacy, with no dead ends. It's German expressionism, but the sets are relatively realistic, only the Count's castle is distorted. It is mostly shot in real locations. FW Murnau creates a sense of unease with camera effects and the shadows. But primarily through his star, Max Schrek as the hideous, rodent-like vampire.

He is the ultimate monster in cinema; grotesque and parasitic and folkloric. The journey by ship is disturbing, as he feeds on the crew, slowly draining them all. On arrival, he is the only survivor and he and his cargo of rats go to work on the local population. The Count is an astonishingly voracious killer. More like a disease than a creature. There are moments of breathtaking horror.

And the conclusion- not from the novel- is very satisfying. Murnau creates a supernatural world which is oddly relatable; like a glimpsed memory of a childhood nightmare. Famously, the courts ordered all prints must be destroyed at the behest of Stoker's estate! What was saved is a strong candidate for the best horror film ever made.