[Movie] Review of Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens - Films That Shaped Cinema (2) [Eng/Esp]
Published on HivePostify by @bulkathos · Tue Aug 25 2026
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Hey [scrobble.life](https://scrobble.life/) community! I hope you're all doing well. Today I wanted to bring you a review of one of the most transcendent classics of horror cinema! It took me several weeks to decide to write this review, since this film has been discussed so much, parodied, and used as an easter egg in countless modern films that it seemed impossible to say anything more about it. But since this series of reviews I'm sharing with you is titled "Films That Marked Cinema," we absolutely had to include it, and besides, it's one of my favorite horror films.
When we talk about vampires in pop culture, there's an unimaginable amount of material available, from literary works that interpret, reinterpret, or adapt the vampire myth to modern times. And the same is true in film, which is why the movie we're going to review this time is the first cinematic adaptation of the vampire myth. Here it is: Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror!
[filmaffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film238028.html)
I. Film Details, Origins, and Influence
Let's begin with what many of you may already know: Nosferatu was a loose adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Premiered in 1922 at the Berlin Zoological Garden, this was the first film to adapt the vampire myth for the screen, and it would eventually become not only the flagship work of German Expressionism but also one of the most influential works in horror cinema to this day. The adaptation was written by Henrik Galeen, directed by F. W. Murnau, and produced by Albin Grau—a truly audacious undertaking, given that the intellectual property rights to Dracula had only been registered for 25 years, Stoker had already died in 1912, and although the producer and screenwriter took care to change the characters' names and the title of the work, Stoker's widow flew into a rage upon learning of this loose adaptation. As a result, a court approved compensation for the widow and the immediate destruction of all copies of the film! It would have been a true crime for this work to have disappeared, but in 1947, with the trademark passing into the public domain, a search and preservation effort began for this film. Thanks to the few copies that survived because they were in countries where the court ruling hadn't reached, and thanks to collectors who understood the important contribution of this film, it is possible to enjoy today the version presented more than a century ago.
But the question arises: why was this work so influential? Beyond being the first cinematic adaptation of Dracula, there's a whole series of esoteric and occult elements that gave the film a unique identity and ultimately added greater depth to the vampire myth. This is where I want to focus my review: on all the esoteric elements present in this film, which you might miss on a first viewing. To better understand this, we must begin with three very important figures who shaped this film: Albin Grau, F. W. Murnau, and the film's star, Max Schreck, as Nosferatu.
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[IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0013442/?ref=mvclose)
The convergence of these three individuals was literally the alignment of a whole series of political, religious, and ultimately artistic circumstances in postwar Germany, then known as the Weimar Republic. Albin Grau, a survivor of World War I on the Balkan front, returned fascinated not only by the vampire story, but also, like many at the time, by the occult. He was the driving force behind the entire Nosferatu project. His studio, PRANA Films, is a testament to his intention to create films with a strong occult component. The word PRANA is of Sanskrit origin, and he interprets the underlying yin and yang symbol as the struggle between light and darkness, something very present in the film. Then we have director F. W. Murnau, who had already made films with the same themes, and although his death was very premature (1931), he became one of the leading figures of German Expressionist cinema. Like Grau, he also experienced the horrors of the Great War firsthand. Finally, we have Max Schreck, a veteran of the Great War. Post-traumatic stress, which was not yet diagnosed at the time, led him to isolate himself from society, spending hours lost in the woods. His acting career was quite short for this reason.
These three men, scarred by the shadow of war, were drawn to humanity's darkest side: death, the occult, and the realm of the incorporeal, inhabited by beings beyond our comprehension. They were the driving force behind this film, lending depth to the vampire myth, transforming it from an undead aristocrat into a truly demonic creature that seeks not to seduce but to be the harbinger of plague. The following quote is attributed to director Grau regarding the influence of the Great War on his film:
"This monstrous event was unleashed upon the earth like a cosmic vampire to drink the blood of millions upon millions of men".
— Albin Grau
II. Review and Opinion
The first thing that captivated me about this film was its atmosphere. Unlike films by contemporaries such as Fritz Lang, who employed pompous and masterful orchestras to narrate their stories, here the mise-en-scène carries more weight than the music, and this proved to be the most effective approach. As the film progresses, we realize that the ominous tone of the plot steadily intensifies. The film begins with Hutter and Ellen, a newly married couple, which forces the husband to find a job that will give him status with which to support his future family.
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Upon firing his wife, he encounters two important characters. The first is Dr. Bulwer, who is the equivalent of Dr. Van Helsing, and this is where we see the first differences from the book and the introduction to esoteric themes. Beyond the name, this doctor considers himself a follower of Paracelsus's doctrine, who was not only a physician but also an occultist and a skilled practitioner of alchemy and Hermetic philosophy. When Hutter arrives at his job at a real estate agency, he introduces himself to his boss, Knock, who is holding papers with clearly Enochian symbolism, a language created in the 15th century and considered the language of angels, spoken by the first man, Adam.
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Knock tells him that a wealthy count in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania wishes to buy property in the fictional city of Wesborg, where the bulk of the plot unfolds, and requires an agent to personally sign the documents. For Hutter, this is a defining moment; if he seals this deal, he will achieve the status he needs to secure a better life with his wife. So, full of optimism, he sets off to close the sale and sign the papers.
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Hutter thus embarks on his journey and reaches the Carpathians, where he spends the night in a nearby villa. When he mentions that he is going to see Count Orlok, the tavern's merriment immediately ceases. He is warned of the danger, but he dismisses it and continues on his way. When he is near the castle, the carriage leaves him because he refuses to go any further. It is interesting here how the film is tinted to emphasize that it is already night. Remember that these cameras were impossible to film in complete darkness, so they used this solution to signal that dusk has fallen.
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[IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0013442/?ref=mvclose)
Our protagonist must then continue the long journey alone, and late into the night he is received by Count Orlok. This part is brilliant in the film because it doesn't resort to cheap jump scares with the Count's sudden appearance; the terror is more subtle! It begins with Hutter presenting the papers to the Count over dinner. The Count appears to be an eccentric figure, but nothing more. Then, at one point, Hutter cuts himself, sparking the Count's interest in blood. Later, he finds a photograph of Ellen, the Count's wife, which further obsesses him, making Hutter nervous and eager to leave the castle.
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[IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0013442/?ref=mvclose)
The terror truly begins after the first third of the film, and what is remarkable is how the feeling of helplessness and panic in the protagonist and us, the viewers, infiltrates not through any gruesome scene, but through the concepts it deals with, very similar to the film [Häxan, 1922](https://scrobble.life/watch/H%C3%A4xan) that we reviewed last week. Hutten finds a book that describes Nosferatu as the seed of Belial, a demon of Judeo-Christian origin associated with corruption and pestilence. Upon reading this, Hutten sets out to explore the castle, uncovering the true nature of Count Orlok in what is one of the film's most iconic scenes.
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[IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0013442/?ref=mvclose)
Ellen experiences Hutter's attacks by Orlok in her dreams as nightmares; she also suffers from sleepwalking and tends to appear disconnected from reality. What happens is that Count Orlok can establish a telepathic connection with her. This differs from the book, where, for this to occur, the victim must drink the vampire's blood in a process called a blood baptism. Another difference is when the vampire feeds on blood. In Nosferatu, when the Count drinks his victim's blood, he doesn't transform them; he leaves them dying or gravely ill, consistent with his nature as a plague carrier. Dracula, on the other hand, turns his victim into a vampire when he bites them, and a whole series of tools, such as stakes, garlic, and crucifixes, are necessary to kill him.
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[IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0013442/?ref=mvclose)
The drama in the film intensifies when we learn that Orlok has already set out for the city of Wesborg, while Hutter is forced to jump from the top of the castle to escape. He is found and cared for by a chaplain. Barely recovered, he immediately sets off for Wesborg, understanding the danger his wife faces.
The arrival of Count Orlok sends Knock, the head of the real estate agency, into a frenzy, as he has always been a follower of Nosferatu, revealing his occult nature. To make matters worse, the ship carrying the Count arrives with all its crew dead, bearing marks on their necks, and simultaneously, a plague of rats spreads throughout the city.
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[IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0013442/?ref=mvclose)
Ellen, initially overjoyed by her beloved's arrival, grows increasingly unhappy due to Count Orlok's persistent harassment in her dreams. Simultaneously, she witnesses the deaths of Wesborg's inhabitants from the plague, undoubtedly linked to the Count's arrival. She is compelled to read the book about Nosferatu, which identifies him as the harbinger of death and plague wherever he goes, and states that the only way to stop him is with the blood of a sinless virgin, who can restrain the creature until the rooster crows at dawn.
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[IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0013442/?ref=mvclose)
This final act of the film is undoubtedly the most memorable and contains scenes that will leave an indelible mark on cinema. To begin with, it introduces a new element, a characteristic that has become synonymous with the vampire: the mortal vulnerability to light. In the original work, while light weakens Dracula, it doesn't prevent him from venturing out in broad daylight. And finally, the way the director imbues Nosferatu with that supernatural aura through his shadow as an extension of his body. I can only imagine what it was like for viewers over a century ago to see that scene in a silent film, and how it remains so relevant today; it gives this film a great deal of merit.
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