It all started here. With Nosferatu, a loose adaptation of Bram Stoker's seminal novel Dracula, director F.W. Murnau took actor Max Schreck and transformed him into a nightmarish vision of evil so scary that he's still capable of creeping out movie-goers who revisit the classic today. Indeed, a viewing of Nosferatu in an empty house on a wet and windy night is bound to inspire the worst kinds of bad dreams. So Nosferatu came about as early as 1922, and is still remarkable for the ways in which it pretty much influenced every horror movie that followed in its shadow. Murnau, a master of shadow of light, shoots Nosferatu beautifully - the movie is rich with shadows and dark corners that only serve to intensify the already terrifying nature of Schreck's lurking. What's surprising, perhaps, is - almost 100 years after it was first released - how watchable Nosferatu is. The movie runs at 90 minutes, but never lags. Indeed, what's even more surprising is just how scary it is. There is something strange and otherworldly of Max Schreck's performance, as if he were shipped in from another time or place; a genuine vampire.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
