Film review: Nosferatu

The origin of Gothic horror in cinema

Brief information

• Original title: Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror
• Year of publication: 1922
• Directed by: FW Murnau
• Genre: Silent film · Expressionist horror · Gothic
• Vampire character: Count Orlok (Max Schreck)

Plot

Young real estate agent Hutter travels to a remote area to sell a house to the mysterious Count Orlok . It soon becomes clear that Orlok is no ordinary man. With his arrival , sickness, death, and fear spread – not through overt violence, but through an uncanny presence that infects all living things.

Atmosphere & Visual Language

“Nosferatu” lives almost exclusively from atmosphere :

• extreme light-shadow contrasts
• distorted perspectives
• empty rooms & fixed gazes
• Silence as a threat

The film uses German Expressionism not to show fear, but to make it palpable . Count Orlok's shadow, stretching across stairs and walls, remains one of the most iconic images in film history .

Count Orlok – the vampire as a symbol

Unlike later, romanticized vampires, Orlok is:

• pathological
• strange
• parasitic
• emotionless

It symbolically represents:

• Plagues & Death
• Fear of the unknown
• inevitable decay

Nosferatu is less a monster movie than an allegorical death myth .

Gothic meaning

“Nosferatu” is considered the cornerstone of Gothic cinema because it establishes central themes:

• Night & Shadows
• Decay & Ruins
• Death as presence
• Architecture as a threat

Many later works – from vampire films to dark art, music & fashion – consciously draw on this visual language.

Historical context

The film was an unofficial Dracula adaptation and was almost completely destroyed following lawsuits. Its continued existence today further cements its status as a myth in film history .

A work that has even escaped oblivion.

Conclusion

“Nosferatu” (1922) is not a film in the modern sense – it is a visual ritual.
Slowly, quietly and eerily, it unfolds an effect that has endured even after more than 100 years.

Essential viewing for:

• Gothic enthusiasts
• Dark art fans
• Lovers of atmospheric horror

Rating: 10/10 – a timeless classic of Gothic horror