NOSFERATU: The "Monster" Turns 100

NOSFERATU 100th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)

1922 / 82 min

FROM REEL VAULT

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Historically, vampires come in three flavors…romantic, tragic and monstrous. Though based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the 1922 silent classic, Nosferatu, eschewed the novel’s romanticism and inherent sexuality to present the first onscreen vampire as an inhuman monster. 

Unlike a majority of vampire films which followed in ensuing years, the title creature (chillingly performed by Max Schreck) is rat-like in appearance. Not only that, his victims don’t turn into the undead themselves…they die when he’s finished feeding. As such, Nosferatu is one of the few early vampire movies that can be considered pure horror. Watching the film 100 years later reminded me just how seldom we get truly monstrous bloodsuckers anymore.

"Uh...you're out of toilet paper."

Still, Nosferatu remains hugely influential. From an aesthetic standpoint, it is one of the most important horror films ever made, establishing a gothic blueprint that’s been followed - directly or indirectly - ever since. While never particularly scary, it remains a haunting film filled with indelible imagery, and pretty much required viewing for anyone professing to be a classic horror fan.

Nosferatu has been released on Blu-ray before, most notably a 2-disc restoration from 2013. This 100th Anniversary edition has no supplementary material, but the overall transfer quality is pretty good. It also features a sparse-but-interesting new piano score by Keith Taylor. I suppose those weaned on the likes of 30 Days of Night will find the film a little quaint, but the concept of the “monstrous” vampire truly began here.