Nosferatu

Nosferatu (1921, Ger., FW Murnau)
The more time that elapses from the year Nosferatu was produced, the spookier the film seems to be. It seems impossible to think there could have been or will ever be a more perfect actor to play the role of Count Orlok (or Dracula if you prefer). Certainly not for the physical eeriness that title actor Max Schreck exudes. A far cry from George Hamilton’s Dracula! And putting Shadow of a Vampire aside, Nosferatu seems so real.
Realism in a film this horrific and mythical is quite a feat and sets the overall tone for the film. It is said that suspension of disbelief is integral to the viewer’s film experience, but here we have an exception to this rule. Schreck gives a dose of realism even if his features are exaggerated by prosthetics, shadows and low angles. His sidekick Knock (the Renfield charcter) is played by Alexander Granach who also does not appear to have been terribly made up and is a clearly convincing madman who is both docile and capable of succumbing to violent tendencies. The locales used in the film are also extraordinary and are of a world that clearly is ages past (almost a century!). I suppose that the vast majority of them were in immediate postwar Germany doesn’t hurt.
Filming techniques and the lack of concentration on actors other than Schreck keep this film as timeless as it can be. The hammy over the top nature of most silent film acting is kept at bay in this film. There are only four main characters and Nosferatu and Hutter get the vast majority of the time on screen with Hutter finishing a clear second in screen time. It is the haunting images and film techniques that supply the fluidity to the story. There are multiple scenes of jump cutting, a few of which could arguably assessed as stop-action sequences. Examples are when doors open for Nosferatu; a coffin lid closes itself on Nosferatu; and a tarp removes itself from a coffin. The speeding up of frames is also used to great effect when Hutter is met by Orlok in a horse drawn carriage and driven to the castle, dropped off and just as quickly deserted in front of the two immense wooden doors that open unassisted upon Hutter’s advance. There is also another scene in which Nosferatu loads up a bunch of Transylvania earth filled coffins by himself (capped by him getting in the top coffin, lid closing itself, and the unmanned horse drawn coffin filled flat bed speeds off) as Hutter watches in disbelief at Nosferatu’s speed and strength, not to mention the guy with the coffins.
When compared to the oeuvres of other directors, FW Murnau did not make many films. He died in an auto accident at the age of 43 after having completed his fourth American feature. However, he left an indelible footprint on cinema with his contributions. There were a few horror films before Nosferatu but this film set the bar for horror films to this day. Here is a film just as image driven as all horror films are but in a more subtle way. There are no shock gimmicks, just spooky images: the head of Nosferatu that can barely be seen feeding on Ellen Hutter as she sleeps, the images of animals, the empty ship, the rats, Nosferatu’s Transyvania castle and his ‘new’ Bremen home, and the title character himself of course. Nosferatu creates a mood and a pace that is rare and undeniable.