Shawn Hall There are very few silent movie titles well-known to the public, let alone elicit a shiver down their spine. Nosferatu, with several remakes as recent as last year, stands as one of the exceptions. Nosferatu is also well respected within the silent film community, voted #5 on Silent Era’s Top 100 Silent Movies List, which I’m reviewing as part of a weekly series sharing whether I agree with the film’s lofty ranking.
A retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that tried to get around not having the rights to the novel, the plot itself is not such much the selling point of the film as its otherworldly atmosphere. Murnau experiments with a variety of filmmaking techniques to craft an eerie such as when Nosferatu picks up Hutter in his carriage. Here, Murnau undercranks the camera, creating sped-up footage that introduces Nosferatu as a supernatural presence. It’s a subtle but effective way to suggest that he doesn’t obey the normal rules of physics, setting him apart from everyone else.
Nosferatu is scary in both positive and negative images!
The same scene features an undeveloped negative effect on the carriage, a haunting visual that signals to the viewer that we’re leaving behind the real world and entering Nosferatu’s supernatural domain. Murnau’s stop-motion photography is another standout technique, providing the perfect visual to show Nosferatu perform impossible feats like moving multiple coffins without effort, enhancing his mystique.
These visual effects pair beautifully with the film’s dark, shadow-heavy cinematography and on-location shooting. For the vampire’s castle, Murnau filmed at Slovakia’s 13th-century Orava Castle. This authentic backdrop makes Nosferatu feel like an ancient, plague-era evil that has haunted humanity for centuries.
Left: Nosferatu raises coffin lid with stop-motion effects Right: The Orava Castle
Max Schreck’s performance as the vampire transforms Nosferatu into an iconic villain remembered over a century later. His eerie, unnatural presence remains chilling even today. It’s no wonder that Nosferatu is one of the most recognizable silent films to modern audiences and has had a lasting influence on horror and cinema at large.
As much as I admire Murnau’s experimental direction and the film’s visual power, Nosferatu isn’t perfect. While the style is rich and atmospheric, I find the plot doesn’t always hold up for me. When Nosferatu is offscreen, the pacing starts to lag. The story feels stretched in places, lacking the same engagement that the visuals deliver.
Don’t get me wrong. Nosferatu is a good movie with a lot to appreciate, but I am much lower on the film than the majority of the silent and horror community. Perhaps some of my struggle with the film is that its story and themes don’t resonate with me like later Murnau’s films, like Sunrise or Faust. But that’s the fun with listmaking, everyone is going to have different tastes and opinions. If you are a horror fan or new to silent films, with the film’s iconic visual look, it is still a great place to start.
Next up in this review series: I’ll be covering Douglas Fairbanks in his final silent swashbuckler The Iron Mask.
