Watch Nosferatu

Nosferatu, a German Expressionist horror film from 1922, is widely considered to be one of the seminal works of the genre. Directed by F. W. Murnau, and starring Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, and Gustav von Wangenheim, Nosferatu tells the story of a young real estate agent named Hutter, who travels to the remote Carpathian Mountains to broker a sale with a wealthy and mysterious nobleman named Count Orlok.

As Hutter journeys deeper into the mountains, he becomes increasingly unnerved by the strange behavior of the villagers he encounters, who warn him against seeking out Count Orlok. But Hutter is undeterred, and eventually arrives at the Count's castle, where he discovers that his host is, in fact, a vampire.

Count Orlok, played with eerie intensity by Max Schreck, is a haunting figure from the moment he appears on screen. With his bald head, sunken eyes, and long, spindly fingers, he is the quintessential vampire, a creature of darkness and death who preys upon the living. Schreck's performance is unforgettable, conveying a sense of otherworldly menace that still resonates nearly a century later.

Despite Hutter's fears, he continues to spend time with Count Orlok, becoming increasingly drawn into the vampire's orbit. Meanwhile, back in Hutter's hometown, his wife Ellen begins to have disturbing dreams about the Count, foreshadowing the tragedy that is to come.

As the film builds toward its climax, Hutter grows more and more desperate to escape from the castle, while Ellen becomes convinced that she must destroy Count Orlok to save her husband. The tension mounts as the two plot their separate courses of action, even as the Count's influence over them grows stronger.

From its atmospheric cinematography to its haunting score, Nosferatu is a tour-de-force of cinematic horror. Murnau's use of shadow and light is masterful, creating a sense of reality that is at once familiar and deeply unsettling. The film's final scenes, shot on location in the coastal town of Wismar, are particularly effective, as the Count's vampire plague spreads throughout the town, devastating the population and leaving a trail of death in its wake.

But beyond its macabre imagery, Nosferatu is also a study in human psychology, exploring the depths of desire, fear, and obsession that lurk within us all. At its heart, the film is a meditation on the nature of evil, and on the lengths to which we will go to quell our deepest fears.

Despite being nearly a century old, Nosferatu remains a landmark of the horror genre, and a testament to the power of cinema to evoke the most primal aspects of human experience. Whether you are a seasoned horror aficionado or a newcomer to the genre, this film is not to be missed.

Nosferatu is a 1922 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 34 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.9.