Nosferatu, the Vampyre (1979)

Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu, the Vampyre"

There is a paragraph in Roger Ebert's review of the 1979 film "Nosferatu, the Vampyre" which notes how most audiences and critics don't recognize Werner Herzog's beautiful images, as his themes are often an overshadowing force. With this film, Ebert notes, audiences can finally appreciate the compositional mastery Herzog has to offer. This doesn't mean "Nosferatu, the Vamprye" is lacking in depth thematically. But, the beauty of the visual images certainly is in the forefront.

The plot of the film is directly a remake of the classic 1922 Murnau original film. Even more so, he fuses it with Stoker's original "Dracula" concept (which Murnau's film shameless stole from). A vampire named Dracula buys up new real estate in the town of Wismar, bringing with him plague and death. Lucy, the wife of the real estate agent who sold him the property, must entrap Dracula to end the madness. 

Murnau's original "Nosferatu" seemed more akin to a 'horror' film than Herzog's adaptation, making its themes somewhat differing. While the original seemed more thematically focused on death itself and its lingering inevitability, Herzog pairs this idea with the trapping of modern comforts. He notes that as soon as the plague threatens the town, people "throw their property into the streets; they discard their bourgeois trappings." To Herzog, the vampire is not a monster, but an ambivalent force - the nature, inevitable march of change and destruction.

Isabelle Adjani, who plays Lucy, notes her character's sexual reaction to the vampire in saying: "There's a sexual element. She is gradually attracted towards Nosferatu. She feels a fascination - as well all would I think." Lucy starts off by attempting to save her husband's life, but ultimately succumbs to the pleasure of death in the end. 

Even Count Dracula himself is not so one-dimensional. There is a certain level of pity paid to ageless ghoul. He is simply trapped by his circumstances, forced to enact benevolent terror over those he encounters. As Klaus Kinski, who plays Dracula, puts it: "He cannot choose, and he cannot cease to be." There are moments when he laments the endless tediousness of life. With these laments, I felt a certain sadness for him.

All in all, it is a film about how we as humans respond to death. We can look upon it as a terrorizing force. Death forces us to reconcile with our own fragility and the loosely-tethered dependence on soothing modern luxuries. Some even feel attracted to death's bite. 

However, it is Herzog's visual brilliance that brings all these themes to life. Every shot is breathtaking to behold. He really sets the tone for the film through the images he constructs. I felt that Herzog was attempting to illicit the feeling of a silent film. Even through his characters, I felt they were trying to replicate the animated and picturesque style of performances from the silent era. That, mixed with the scenic visuals, creates something with an 'out of this world' feeling.

While the film may not be 'scary' to audiences, the tonal atmosphere and gothic visuals illicit a feeling of unease. The film is far more unnerving than scary, providing a feeling of a shivers down your spine or goosebumps across your arms. It is more of a meditation on our relationship to death than a 'thrill' that one would get from a scary movie.