Nosferatu(Matt)

I've heard that this film is responsible for modern horror as we know it today. I'll give this film a lot of credit towards that end, as I can certainly see it setting a very dark and beautiful example for it's horrific descendants, however I think that we cannot give it so high a title. To do so is to discredit many other genre defining titles that also deserve that honor. I will admit however, that this wonder piece of cinema is a great thing.

Lets begin with the mood that this movie creates. It was made back in 1922, which makes this very old as far as movies go. It's a silent film so you have no sound effects or voices, all you are given is a musical overlay that simulates the piano or organ that would have been playing had we seen this in a theater all those years ago. The film is grainy and faded and dark, being broken occasionally to show us short blocks of text used to convey dialog or to explain certain things that might not be made clear by the film itself. All these elements contribute to a very creepy experience. I felt like I was seeing actual footage of the past in some cases, and it was quite the treat to see. I haven't seen many silent movies sadly, and this makes me want to go add a few to my Netflix queue. Seeing a movie in this format, especially an old horror film like this one, was a lot of fun.

The vampire of the film, Nosferatu himself, is amazingly creepy. He's scary even today. That evil face with the pointed ears and his long arms and even longer fingers just get under your skin. He looks human, but not quite. This creates a monster which to me is much scarier than many of the vampires you see in modern movies.

The movie does suffer from a few bouts of silliness. The protagonist, Hutter, is a bit ridiculous. Perhaps his behavior was a bit more understandable in the twenties, but now he just is laughable, and it's hard to feel any sympathy towards him at all. The old real estate agent, Knock, is also a little over the top. He manages to give us some creepy scenes, but usually he's just acting silly.

This movie holds up well when it comes to the actual scary parts, they are dark, creepy, and can get right under your skin. When it comes to any other part however, it falls short now. It's just too dated to hold my interest at any other time. I guess because of this you could say I both loved and hated this movie at the same time.

I'd give it 5 rat swarms out of 10. (+5 for love, -5 for hate)