There are moments in F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" (1922) when the screen itself seems to emanate darkness. Not merely the absence of light, but something more primordial – a darkness that breathes. This unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" nearly vanished into that darkness forever when Stoker's widow sued for copyright infringement. How fortunate we are that it survived.

The story follows Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim), a real estate agent who travels to Transylvania to meet Count Orlok (Max Schreck). But this is not the suave, seductive vampire of later films. Schreck's Orlok is a creature of nightmare – rat-faced, long-fingered, moving with the unnatural stillness of a spider. When he first appears, rising from his coffin in that famous shot, we're seeing one of cinema's most primal images.

What makes "Nosferatu" so powerful isn't what it shows us, but what it suggests. Modern horror films assault us with gore and jump scares, but Murnau understood that true terror lives in shadows and silence. Watch how Orlok's shadow climbs the stairs, his clawed hands reaching up the wall – it's poetry of the macabre, choreographed with the precision of a German Expressionist painting.

The film's visual language speaks volumes in the absence of sound. When Ellen (Greta Schroder) becomes the object of Orlok's desire, the tension builds not through dialogue but through Murnau's masterful composition and pacing. Each frame is arranged with architectural precision, yet somehow feels organic, like a nightmare unfolding in real time.

"Nosferatu" doesn't frighten us with sudden shocks or graphic violence. Instead, it creates a creeping dread that settles into your bones and stays there. It's the kind of film that makes you want to look over your shoulder on the walk home from the theater, even a century after it was made. That's not just horror – that's art.

Great movies change the way we see the world. "Nosferatu" changed the way we see the dark. It remains, after all these years, a masterpiece of shadow and light, of terror and beauty. This isn't just a great horror film – it's a great film, period.

For movie information visit Nosferatu (1922) post at Cinemunch
This movie is available on Amazon - Nosferatu: Kino Classics 2-Disc Deluxe Remastered Edition [Blu-ray] or Download via iTunes - Nosferatu (Remastered) - F.W. Murnau
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This is a part of Fright Cinema 2015, a list of the best horror movies handpicked in no particular order by The Wandering Klutz. It features ten (10) films every year just in time for the scariest season of the year.