An iconic film of German expressionist cinema, and one of the most famous of all silent movies, F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror continues to haunt and indeed, terrify modern audiences with the unshakable power of its images. By teasing a host of occult atmospherics out of dilapidated set-pieces and innocuous real-world locations alike, Murnau captured on celluloid the deep-rooted elements of a waking nightmare, and launched the signature 'Murnau-style' that would change cinema history forever. In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a simple real-estate transaction leads an intrepid businessman deep into the superstitious heart of Transylvania. There he encounters the otherworldly Count Orlok - portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck, in a performance the very backstory of which, has spawned its own mythology - who soon after embarks upon a cross-continental voyage to take up residence in a distant new land, establishing his ambiguous dominion. As to whether the Count’s campaign against the plague-wracked populace erupts from satanic decree, erotic compulsion, or the simple impulse of survival - that remains, perhaps, the greatest mystery of all in this film that’s like a blackout. F.W. Murnau’s surreal 1922 cine-fable remains the original and landmark entry in the entire global tradition of 'the horror film'.
