Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

Original Title

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht

Genre

Fantasy | Horror

Director

Werner Herzog

Country

Germany

Cast

Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, Walter Ladegast, Dan van Husen, Jan Groth, Carsten Bodinus, Martje Grohmann, Rijk de Gooyer, Clemens Scheitz, John Leddy, Tim Beekman

Storyline

Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz) is sent to Count Dracula's (Klaus Kinski) castle because the Count wants to buy a house where he lives, in Varna. But Dracula is a vampire and he brings with him death.

Opinion

F. W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" was a fantastic film so I completely fail to see the reason to remake it. That being said, I have to admit that Werner Herzog did a quite good job and, even though it is not as good as the original, "Nosferatu the Vampyre" is a creepy and beautiful vampire film, and still one of the finest of this genre.

The main reason this film works is the story. Instead of taking Murnau's story that was slightly different from the original because he basically stole the story from Stoker, Herzog developed the original story more directly and introduce the characters as they were meant to be - Orlok becomes Dracula and the Hutters becomes the Harkers.

Of course that means the storyline is going to be more familiar than ever, and if you pair that with special effects you basically end up with the average vampire flick. Even boring if you allow me. But this film was directed by Werner Herzog which makes the film a lot more interesting. Why? Because instead of using special effects - everyone can do that - he relies on scenery, locations and photography to achieve a visual splendor.

In addition, the film also has an amazing cast. Just like Max Schreck, Klaus Kinski also does a wonderful job in the role of Dracula. He is hypnotizing and terrifying and I have to say that the music and makeup help with the creepiness. And the sexual tension between his character and Isabelle Adjani's Lucy really adds to the film. Bruno Ganzo also does a good job in the role of Jonathan Harker.