For my second day of 31 Days of Frights, I picked a movie my mom would watch with me: the 1922 classic Nosferatu!
I watched this one in 2021 as my October 31st watch, so it’s been a while. Back then, however, I hadn’t yet picked up Dracula. Now, having read and adored Bram Stoker’s masterpiece, I’ve a new layer of appreciation – and condensation – for this century-old movie.
Nosferatu’s Max Schreck portrays Count Orlok, the German interpretation of the famous vampire, pointy-eared and long-fingered. To quote from Brooke Allen’s introduction of my 2003 Dracula edition: “When [Stoker’s wife discovered that the German director F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film Nosferatu was largely inspired by Dracula, she accused the producers of copyright infringement and tried for years to get the print destroyed. Fortunately, she failed in this, and Nosferatu remains as a major work of German expressionism.” But how accurate is this movie to the book?
For starters, Nosfertaru begins the character change seen in almost every adaptation of Dracula since. In the book, Dracula’s servant Renfield is a patient at Dr. Seward’s mental hospital, insane and eating flies. In Nosferatu, however – and all ensuing movies – Renfield is also made Dracula’s real estate lawyer before Johnathan Harker. This shift, despite being inaccurate to the book, links Renfield more solidly into the narrative opening and gives him a backstory to his relationship with Dracula.
Dracula boasts a large and varied cast of characters: Jonathan and Mina Harker, Lucy Westenra, her three suitors, Dr. Van Helsing, Renfield, and Dracula himself. Because of this, it makes sense to pare down the ensemble, especially for an 81-minute silent film! Lucy makes the cut, but she’s given a husband with the surname Westenra and her role is greatly reduced. She’s little more than “Nina’s” friend during “Jonathon’s” travels.
In Orlok’s castle, Jonathon faces the strange man’s fascination with blood and his own possible imprisonment. The reveal of Orlok’s body within an earth-filled coffin is almost perfectly book-accurate (except for the loss of a younger version of the vampire). However, Jonathon’s wife Nina plays a surprisingly impressive role in rescuing her husband – and the world. While Orlok is stalking Jonathon in his castle, Nina has prophetic dreams and reaches out psychically to save her husband. Jonathon eventually escapes safely home, but Orlok follows him to continue his killing abroad.
Nina reads a book about vampires and realizes she can defeat Orlok by willingly offering her blood to him as a “pure-hearted woman.” She fakes a fainting spell to send away Jonathon for Van Helsing (a character whose role makes little sense in this context). Once alone, Nina lets Orlok come to her and drink her blood, distracting him until sunrise. Orlok dissolves into nothing, and Jonthon returns to find his wife… dead? Maybe? I think she’s dead, according to the movie’s Wikipedia article, but…
For more info on the rescuing of Nosferatu and the name changes, check this out:
As you might’ve guessed, I am very excited for the Nosferatu remake this December! It’s a shame it was pushed back two years – we could’ve had a remake exactly 100 years after the original! – but I love Willem Dafoe and Pennywise! So let’s go.
This’ll be a weird Christmas movie, but I’m not complaining!
