On December 25th will release the highly anticipated Nosferatu by Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Northman). In the meantime, we can always discover or rediscover the original film directed by F.W. Murnau, or even listen to Werner Herzog’s reinterpretation. However, did you know the next film will not be the second, but the seventh remake of Nosferatu? And it won’t be the last. Most of them being independent works, they have unfortunately gone unnoticed. So, this is the opportunity to take a look at the different faces of Count Orlok.
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
It was in 1979 that German director Werner Herzog decided to pay tribute to F.W. Murnau’s masterpiece. The year of release was not chosen by chance, because Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula had fallen into the public domain. Thus, the filmmaker was sure not to repeat the mistakes of the original film and avoid a potential lawsuit from Stoker’s estate. The choice was made to use the names of the characters in the novel. The role of the vampire was given to Klaus Kinski, a regular actor of the director. Even with some major changes, the story remains essentially the same as the one written by Henrik Galeen. The particularity of this film is that each dialogue scene was shot twice: in German and in English. No dubbing was done. Shout Factory released a Blu-ray in 2014 and a 4K edition is in the works.
Red Scream Nosferatu (2009)
This is the first independent remake of Nosferatu. Written and directed by David R. Williams, this film pays homage to the original film while borrowing elements from Bram Stoker’s novel with a steampunk aesthetic. The names are from the novel except for the Count’s, which remains the same. However, the character is much more Dracula-like than Orlok. The story focuses mainly on what happens in the castle between Harker and Orlok’s fiancées. A DVD was released and it’s also available through Prime Video in VOD but you can see it for free on the official YouTube channel.
NYsferatu: Symphony of a Century (2017)
Directed by Andrea Mastrovito, this film is a hand-drawn animation film that recreates the original film frame by frame. This project depicts the reality of immigrants arriving in the United States. The visuals and narration of the film refer to events such as the Syrian Civil War and New York’s city housing crisis. This animated version, with music composed by Simone Giuliani, was mainly screened in the New York area, but it was also seen in the rest of the country and internationally from 2017 to 2018. Unfortunately, you had to be there to see it, because since then, this remake has not been available anywhere to watch.
Nosferatu Re-Animated (2020)
This second animated remake is directed by Fran Blackwood and was presented at the Los Angeles Animation Festival. While it is also a frame-by-frame remake, the animation is modern and in color. It is a more faithful adaptation of Murnau’s classic. The soundtrack was composed by Fran Blackwood and Eric Demaray. A DVD has been produced, but this film can also be seen on Fandago at Home and VOD on Vimeo.
Nosferatu, créature des ténèbres (2023)
It was during the Covid 19 lockdown, while researching the history of pandemics, that director Gérard Seigneur rediscovered Noferatu. The plague epidemic, which he always saw as being in the background, inspired him to produce a short remake of the original movie. Three versions of the film were made: talking in black and white, talking in color and silent in black and white. The names of the characters have all been Frenchified. Hutter becomes Louis, Ellen is Alice while Count Orlok is now Count d’Aulan. The director also plays the role of Doctor Bonnin-Dublineau, the equivalent of Professor Bulwer. The talking black and white version is available on VOD on the film’s official website, while the silent black & white and talking color versions are offered for free on YouTube. A Blu-ray exists with both talking versions. Optional English, Spanish and Italian subtitles have been made.
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (2024)
Announced in 2016 and funded through Kickstarter, this new remake has been slow to come to fruition, with the pandemic not helping matters. This new iteration of Nosferatu is directed by David Lee Fisher who made his own Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 2005. The Count Orlok is portrayed by Doug Jones (Hellboy, The Shape of Water), who also played Cesare in Caligari. Fisher reworks Murnau’s film scene by scene, shot in front of green screens, while allowing himself certain liberties. This production may be in the shadow of Eggers’ film, but it was still released two months earlier on Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.
Nosferatu (2024)
Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of the year. It must be said that the advertising campaign knows how to tickle our fancy. Already two trailers and we still don’t have a proper look at Count Orlok. After It, we are very curious to see Bill Skarsgård in the costume of the famous vampire. In addition, Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse, Poor Things) is part of the cast, he had already played Max Schreck/Orlok in Shadow of the Vampire.
Nosferatu Reanimated (????)
As if that wasn’t enough, a new animated film, also called Reanimated, is in the works. The Dutch writer and animator Erik van Schaaik will direct his first feature film. The stop-motion animated movie will focus on Ellen, a stout young lady seeking to break free from her bourgeois society. On her journey, she will meet Orlok the vampire. A script has been written and storyboard is in the works. They are now looking for co-production partners. You can follow the project on the official website.
And finally, here are some titles that are NOT remakes, but that offer reinterpretations of the famous vampire and that are worth mentioning.
Nosferatu in Venice (1988)
An unofficial sequel to Herzog’s Nosferatu, this Italian film directed by Augusto Caminito stars Klaus Kinski as the vampire once again. However, he refused to shave his head and spend long hours in makeup, resulting in a somewhat different character. The story follows Professor Paris Catalano’s visit to Venice to investigate the appearance of the vampire Nosferatu during the 1786 carnival. A Blu-ray was released by Severin Films.
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
This very special tribute is based on rumors that actor Max Schreck, who played Count Orlok, was an actual vampire. After all, he was a little-known stage actor and no one would have seen him without costume and makeup during filming. Furthermore, the name Schreck means fright in German. This is the premise that director E. Elias Merhige explores according to a screenplay by Steven Katz. Murnau was played by John Malkovich and Schreck by Willem Dafoe. With the exception of Germany, there is still no Blu-ray release of this film.
Mimesis Nosferatu (2018)
Following his homage Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead, Douglas Schulze tackled another horror classic with Nosferatu. At Harker Arts Academy, a play based on Nosferatu turns into a nightmare when obsessed fans arrive pretending to be vampires. We can see this movie on different streaming services like Prime Video, Fawesome, Tubi, Plex, YouTube and also on DVD.
