Better Late than Never on "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror"

On the heels of seeing Robert Eggers “Nosferatu”, I decided I needed to go back and watch the original from 1922. That one is called “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror”.

Now, going into this movie, I knew next to nothing about it. I knew Eggers based his movie on this story and that he used elements and images from the original. I should also mention that my dad told me to watch it as well. He remembered liking it, and his opinion hold a ton of brevity for me.

As I settled into this movie, I didn’t realize what a treat I’d be in for. “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” is a very good movie. I didn’t know it was a silent movie, my first, but that didn’t matter. This movie is scary. I found myself jumping here and there while watching. The actors are so good with their body movements and facial expressions that it’s easy to get context from all of that. There’s also cards that flash that help guide you along the story. The cards have written words on them and they tell anyone who may not know what is going on. Eggers did use the same character names. Ellen and Thomas Hutter are the main characters. These old time actors are great. They do so much without saying a single word. Ellen Hutter is exceptional. She has a lot to do and she nails it. Knock is creepier in the original. He’s small and squirrelly. He’s menacing. He has an odd mouth shape and the actor used it well. The seamen and doctors have the perfect look. But this is truly all about the actor playing Count Orlok. This is the original on film vampire. This guy is creepy as hell. His whole aura had me scared. From his hair to his teeth to his fingers, it’s all a great vampire look. He also makes some great facial expressions and really goes for it. Watching him float in and out of scenes was wild. Seeing him carrying a coffin was nuts.

This was so worth going back to see where this idea all started. There’s a real reason why this is considered one of the great scary movies. The music and tone are perfect. The actors are great. The scenery is eerie and well used. It’s an achievement when you realize this movie is over 100 years old. I cannot get over how much I liked this movie. I’m not the biggest fan of older movies, but this one has made me rethink that and now I want to go back and watch some more. If you like Eggers “Nosferatu”, go watch “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror”. You’ll love it ad much as I did. I also recommend seeing it anyway because it’s pretty damn good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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