Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, the gothic horror remake inspired by the 1922 German silent film, hit the box office with a terrifying high on Christmas Day with an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Since then, the movie has been accoladed for its sets made primarily with practical effects, stunning acting performances, and horrifying soundtracks that’ll send goosebumps down your spine. Although the vampiric movie has had plenty of traction in recent weeks, I feel it’s important to appreciate the inspiration that made this movie, as well as the inspiration before that one.
Before Nosferatu (2024) was a 1922 silent film directed by F. W. Murnau called Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. This German silent film was not only one of the first few films in general but also set the blueprint for a plethora of future horror films. Although not the first vampire movie, this one was the first impactful movie to showcase a vampire. After this film came a slew of vampire-like media to come. Even now, horror fans continue to sing praise for the silent film that changed the horror genre.
Not only did the film become a blueprint for the vampires in cinema today, but it also had extensive impacts on German expressionist cinema. Expressionism focuses on feeling rather than plot and structure. The dark, eerie scenes of Nosferatu upheld the influence of German expressionism, using strong contrasts in lighting, and wide shots of dark forests. Nosferatu (2024) uses similar effects in the movie, where wide shots of woods and nature are prevalent in the movie. Expressionism in cinema did not necessarily rely on movies looking scary, but instead feeling scary. This is from the chiaroscuro-esque lighting and expressive acting.
What is so interesting about the high traction of the silent film is that it was very heavily inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the novel not even 25 years old before the movie came out. Before filming, Murnau failed to get the rights to the book from Stoker. Boldly, the director went ahead and made the film anyway. The movie was so similar, however, that a copyright suit was ordered to destroy all copies of the movie. In Stoker’s defense, the movie is quite identical, other than some name changes and a couple of different scenes. Since digital media did not exist at the time, the movie only had copies of the film. In the end, almost all of the copies succeeded in being destroyed, save for a few. If all of these copies were destroyed, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror would not have the impact it did on the genre today. Nonetheless, the movie retained its iconic status, copyrighted or not.
Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a testament to why the silent film became so famous. From the intricate set design with very real animals to the sublime shots of the dark woods, the film captures the sinister and otherworldly aspects of the gothic horror film. Although the modern adaptation is exceptional, it is even more so when thinking about the intense history of the media that came before it. It’s significant to say that, although it isn’t right to produce a copyright violation, it just might be if you’re planning to revolutionize horror.