The first thing that came to my mind while watching Nosferatu was the extremely scary horror film, Insidious. Insidious was by far the scariest horror firm I have ever seen. I am a huge fan of the horror category, and Nosferatu seemed like a walk in the park to me. At first when I was contemplating what I was getting into with Nosferatu the immediate connection I made was to insidious, but shortly after I realized that horror in the 1920’s and horror films nowadays are completely different.
Insidious focused low ominous music, then a LOUD bang and a scary figure would jump out into the screen. Nosferatu was just a creepy person that all of the people were scared of. They tried to make some of the scenes scary and ominous and it worked a little, but not as well as Insidious.
The second thing that came to my mind was the modern vampires displayed on TV and in movies in the 21st century. Not only are they not scary, they are heroes. In both Vampire Diaries and Twilight, the vampires end up saving innocent lives and find love. They are noble figures that earn respect from the viewer. They are also played by actors who have great looks. Comparing Nosferatu to current vampires is two different worlds. The physical character of a vampire and a vampire then has drastically changed.
Lastly, the scene about the haunted castle make me think about a time I went to Canada during summer camp when I was 12. We went on an overnight to Canada to see Niagara Falls and some other cool sights. The last day, we were surprised and went to the scariest haunted house in North America and maybe the world. However, I was not pleasantly surprised. One of my biggest fears when I was younger was people popping out of no where and scaring me. It made me think there is always someone or something in the room and that creeps me out. Anyway we went on the trip, and lets just say it ended with me chickening out within the first 30 seconds of going in. However, id love to go back soon so I can conquer that fear and experience what my friends could not stop talking about the whole way home.
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I really enjoyed your comparison of Nosferatu to the modern Insidious. While I have never seen Insidious, just based on your description I was able to get a feel for what the movie was like, and how it contrasted with the older Nosferatu. Your second point about how vampires are now lauded in society was extremely sharp. You cannot walk into a grocery store or convenience store without seeing a good-looking vampire on the cover of the gossip magazines. How the transformation from freak to fabulous happened I am not sure about, but it is a fascinating evolution.
Your personal anecdote about the fear factory in Canada was very relatable – being that I experienced it as a 12 year old! I remember being buried in my friend’s shirt the whole time though. I did wimp out of a similar fear factory in Israel recently, knowing how brutal those real-life pop outs can be.
Marc, I too have an irrational fear of people of popping out of somewhere even if I am in a setting where I would expect something like that (ex. a haunted house). Perhaps, our fear stems from the larger fear of the natural human fear of the unknown? This is definitely true for me, as I often over-exaggerate a potential scary situation because I fear all the factors that I can’t control. I think your post is very relatable and I agree with you on most points.
I definitely agree with some of the feelings you had while watching the film. Even though I don’t really like horror films I was curious to see how Nosferatu would connect to the genre. I was surprised that after watching the movie it wasn’t really the “horror” that I was expecting. In my mood diary I explain this further, but basically I think that over the past century, our idea of what horror is has changed a lot.
I also like how you made the connection to the fear of going into a haunted house. While I’ve never enjoyed horror movies, for some reason I do enjoy the thrill of haunted houses.