Classic example of German expressionistic cinema. F. W. Murnau directed this lose adaptation of the Dracula story (changed so as to avoid hefty copyright fees) set in a fictional Germanic city called Wisborg in the 1830's. Gustav von Wangenheim and his young wife Greta Schroder are happy but not as well off as Gustav would like them to be. He takes a commission for his employer Alexander Granach to travel to Transylvania to sell a house in there town to the reclusive Count Orlok (Max Schreck).
Orlok is of course a vampire. Schreck is an interesting looking man, looking at an old photo of him on the internet you can see how gaunt and morose he seems, with an odd bulbous head. This serves him well as the base upon which one of the most memorable makeup jobs I've ever seen rides. He's scary, this is a scary kind of vampire, unearthly, misshapen, with long claw like hands and a face that honestly looks bat like. He will torment Gustav, he will pursue Gretas lovely neck, and Knack (Alexander Granach) will go made. Good sense of moode in this, maybe a little slow. I like how the rats who accompany Orlok in his dirt filled coffians are worked into the story, they spread plague to fair Wisborg; a little bit Camus. Not as memorable as The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari but still good.
Good
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