HALLOWEENTOWN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Every day this month, resident horror movie enthusiast and 828newsNOW staff reporter Pruett Norris is recommending a Halloween film for your macabre amusement.
Whether they be monster movies or fearsome family films, demonic possessions or slasher sensations, this exercise hopes to encourage spooky seasonal “scream”ings at home or in cinemas.
As the old saying goes, “trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to…watch.”
Day 11: NOSFERATU (1922, 95 min., directed by F. W. Murnau)
Vampire movies don’t get more classic than “Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens” – or, “A Symphony of Terror,” which is as awesome as it is melodramatic. They don’t name ’em like they used to – the hallmark 1922 silent film directed by famed German directed F. W. Murnau.
“Nosferatu” is an adaptation of “Dracula,” the rights to which had not yet been released by novelist Bram Stoker’s estate. To avoid copyright and the litigious bent of Stoker’s widow, Murnau decided to change a few of the names of his characters, but otherwise kept the plot fairly faithful to the book.
This alteration wound up creating a distinctly iconic vampire of its own: Count Orlok, played with unnerving and lanky menace by Max Schreck.
Orlok was a far cry from Count Dracula the seductive nobleman. He is pale and bat-like, with long pointed ears, teeth and fingers. The creature is terrifying to behold, especially for the silent era, and raised legitimate concerns at the time that Schreck actually was a vampire.
Those anxieties are fictionalized to great effect in the 2000 film “Shadow of the Vampire,” which chronicles the production of “Nosferatu” with Willem Dafoe as an actually-vampiric Schreck.
“Nosferatu” is a blast, especially for audiences unaccustomed or allergic to silent cinema. The film holds up against the light of (to)day, and if you know your vampire lore, that is a rare feat.
Even if your audience won’t sit down to watch the whole thing, “Nosferatu” makes for the perfect Halloween party background movie. Take it from me.
“Nosferatu” is available for free on YouTube and several other streaming sites.
Looking for more October movie recommendations? Read the rest of the 828boosNOW archive:
DAY 1: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
DAY 3: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS
DAY 5: SCOOBY-DOO! AND THE WITCH’S GHOST
DAY 7: THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT