To be honest, I’ve never watched Dracula or heard anything about the film other than “it’s about a vampire,” which is an incredibly vague description. I essentially watched Nosferatu with a blank slate. I’m not the biggest fan of scary movies, (I get scared super easily) and as I began watching the film at 2 o clock in the morning, after about 90 seconds, I shut it off and went to bed. Perhaps it was the creepy faces of the characters or just the eeriness of it all, but I just couldn’t handle it.
Now, attempt number two. I knew I had to watch the film, so I reassured myself that since it was filmed in 1922, graphics were not going to be all that high-tech or realistic. It’s not going to be scary. And, well I was right. Nothing in the film was all that scary; rather, the film was just downright creepy. Essentially, throughout the whole film, my face looked like this:
Because there were no spoken words, I found myself paying really close attention to the lighting and sound effects in the film. I thought F.W. Murnau did an exceptional job. Even without words or color, he was able to evoke such strong emotions in the audience. I personally thought his use of shadows in the film was brilliant, it was able to build up suspense and as always the chills that run through your spine.
One thing I noticed a lot throughout the film was the constant focus on rats. Now that for me was also a bit creepy just because I’m terrified of rats. As I was watching the movie, I kept thinking about why the director would frequently show clips of rats and the significance of them. Even though I didn’t like looking at the rats, I thought Murnau did a great job of using them to symbolize disease/plague. Rats are always associated with the spreading of disease, so I think he was trying to express that the vampirism is similar to the plague. Along with that, if you think about it, the fangs of a vampire are quite rat-like. Renfield in general I thought was a human rat. Everything about him, from his facial structure to his posture and the way he moves all resemble those of a rat. These small little details really made the film thought provoking and fun.
Another aspect of the film that was confusing to me was the idea that a woman had to stay by the vampire’s side until the cock crowed. I guess Murnau decided to leave this up to the audience’s interpretation as to whether or not this was meant in a sexual way. When Nosferatu first enters Nina’s room, as a shadow of course, we see the shadow of his hand grip the left side of Nina’s chest as she writhes in pain. Now this again can be interpreted in two ways. Since it was the left side of Nina’s chest, Nosferatu could have been attacking her heart. On the other hand, this action could be interpreted as his desire for not just blood, but a woman.
Overall, I think Nosferatu was a new experience for many of us. Silent, black and white films from the 1920’s aren’t exactly in my usual choices of entertainment. But surprisingly, I really did enjoy it, aside from it being creepy. But I mean, we are nearing Halloween, what movie better to watch than Nosferatu?
I agree with your thinking that the movie wasn’t going to be scary. I also paid close attention to the music throughout the movie as there were no actor voices to keep track of. It definitely set the tone and atmosphere of the movie. One thing I liked about your analysis of Nosferatu is your connection between Nosferatu and the aspects of the rat. I had compared him to a swamp monster rather than to a rat, and it really sheds light on the plague of vampirism.
I was also really into the visual and sound effects! Probably because the plot for me seemed so predictable, but I thought the artistic values of the film were one of the best parts! I agree with you that the use of shadows was clever. I like your analysis of Nosferatu’s shadow grabbing Nina’s chest, and that helped me think of Nosferatu a new way! I only thought that he wanted to drink her blood, but the idea that he needed a woman seems pretty true! I love your “You disgust me” face by the way.
I liked to hear your perspective as someone who is not familiar with Dracula. It gives a whole new light to how the film is viewed and like you said a “clean slate”. I picked up on a lot of the same things you did. I really focused on the lighting and sound as well. I also appreciate that you were candid about your multiple attempts to watch the movie and how your environment affected your viewing experience. I like your comparison of Renfield to a human rat as this has been seen in many movies (a person as a lowly animal/vermin). I always was intrigued by the ending and was also curious about the possible sexual innuendo used. Nice analysis!