9: Power and Sexualization in Nosferatu (1922) — A Film Review
With the dramatic expressions, the ominous shadows, and intense music, Nosferatu is a great horror silent film — I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film for the first time. The key strength that I found was how the film effectively builds up the suspense surrounding the vampire Count Orlok and his power. However, although it was a great film, the sexualization of Ellen Hutter — through her portrayal, her actions, and her sacrifice — caused particular scenes to be uncomfortable to watch.
Nosferatu is a 1922 silent film based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The film essentially follows the main plot points as well as incorporates or fuses the main characters of the novel. In the film, Thomas Hutter (adapted from the character of Jonathan Harker) travels to the castle of Count Orlok (adapted from Count Dracula) to sell the Count a house. Strange events began to occur on his journey as well as during his meeting with the Count. These events continue to happen throughout Orlok’s arrival to his new home as he thirsts for blood, resulting in fear by the people of a plague arriving in town. In the end, Ellen Hutter (Mina Harker in the novel) saves the town when the Count dies — due to contact with sunlight — after he attacks her.
As a silent film, I quite liked the acting paired with the intense music. The facial expressions and the movements were emphasized to effectively illustrate the story as well as the fear felt by the characters. There were dramatic and quick movements to express fear while the dark and slow actions expressed power. Incorporating the music, the lighting, and the various camera angles, Nosferatu fits well in the horror genre and brings the details from the novel Dracula to life. Further, these elements successfully depict Count Orlok as powerful and frightening. There is a scene where Count Orlok slowly walks through the doorway — appearing taller as he moves forward — with very little movement, towards Hutter — as Hutter cowers and attempts to hide. The backlighting illuminating his figure paired with the tall, narrow archway highlights the Count as the main focus of the scene. In another scene where Orlok is on a ship traveling to his new home, the shot frames the Count from a low camera angle as he advances onto the last crewmember of the ship. Within these two scenes, Count Orlok appears powerful as he towers over the other characters.
While the Count is positioned in the shot to appear powerful, Ellen is portrayed as a means to be sacrificed to save the town and defeat the Count. It’s interesting how it seems as if in the majority of Ellen’s appearances in the film, Ellen is always wearing a nightgown. She is the “sinless maiden” (1:10:09) who is sexualized through her actions and through Count Orlok’s desire to find her. Towards the end of the film, Ellen wakes up as the Count creepily stares out from his window facing Ellen’s room. She opens her window with her arms wide open and tilts her head up as if to show him her neck. In the end, the Count appears in her room to attack. This is shown through the shadow of the Count’s hand over Ellen’s chest with the shadow appearing to have seized her body by the chest. The film utilizes Ellen’s sexuality to sacrifice her in order to save the town and for the Count to take advantage of her. This scene was uncomfortable for me to watch because of the noticeable difference between Ellen’s death and the way the Count attacked the men. Ellen seems to be in a trance, acting differently than when she is with Hutter. While Orlok attacks the men in similar ways, with Ellen he reacts differently — he stares at her and symbolically attacks her with the shadow of only his hand.
The portrayal of Ellen Hutter in the film reminded me of Lucy Westenra rather than Mina Harker from Dracula. Other than that, the other characters or details were, for the most part, parallel with the novel. Overall, Nosferatu is a classic silent film to watch, there were just a few parts of the film that I had harsher critiques for.
