OWF's Greatest Horror Movies By Decades - 1920 (Nosferatu)
In the 1920s those seeds that were planted the decade before took hold, and there are notable examples on both sides of the Atlantic. The most significant of these, and perhaps the most famous, is F.W. Murnaus masterpiece, 'Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'. It is the first of countless adaptations of Bram Stokers 'Dracula', though famously without the permission of the Bram Stoker estate. Although generally included in amongst the Expressionist movement, whats startling today is the movies lyrical use of natural light and exterior shots (of running water, animals etc.); in many ways it is in stark contrast to Caligaris jagged mindscapes. They both create otherworldliness in different ways, one by giving us distorted images we can relate to, and the other by alienating us with perfectly natural images. The best vampire movies, from this to 'Let the Right One In' (2008) take the myth seriously, and consider the sad reality of a creature who needs human blood to live and can only come out at night (the rules of vampirism change from movie to movie, as suits the plot). Whether they project charm, sex appeal or simply fear they have to address the fact that they want to drink your blood, and when presented with the opportunity find it almost impossible to resist. The Count (here renamed Count Orlok) is played by the aptly named Max Schrek, and while it is Bela Lugosis later performance that inspired the most imitations, this is ultimately the creepier one. His coiling fingers, forever shown in extended shadows, bald head and pointed ears are iconic; there is something half-dead, half-human about his appearance from the start. 
The movie is full of great moments and sequences, none greater than the haunting voyage from Transylvania to Wisborg (a fictitious German town), including the famous shot of the vampire rising, in one steady movement, upright from his coffin. One of my favourite moments shows the shadow of his hand move over a womans body until it reaches her heart, then clenches shut. The German Expressionist Movement and the horrors it produced (Murnau also did his version of 'Faust' (1926) and a version of 'Jekyll And Hyde' (1920)) in turn influenced Hollywood. The American silent horror movie classics are synonymous with one name: Lon Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces, who appeared in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', (1923) 'The Phantom of the Opera' (1925 and still the best version), and 'The Hypnotist' (AKA 'London After Midnight', 1927). The latter of these was made by Todd Browning, who went on to make 'Dracula' (1931) and 'Freaks' (1932). Chaney withdrew from the role of Gwnyplaine in Paul Lenis 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928) leaving the door open for Conrad Veidt to take the role; the protagonists disfigured face, frozen in a permanent smile, would be an influence on Batmans nemesis, The Joker. 
CHECK BACK TOMORROW as the Universal Monsters are born! Previously: 1910 (Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)