HERZOG’S "NOSFERATU:" DREAD WITH MINIMAL RED.

I’m in the process of completing a Top Ten Movie List for 1979 (The year I was born in.) Having just watched Werner Herzog’s "Nosferatu," I am now only two movies short. Readers: Commence recommendations!

As for "Nosferatu," I actually liked it quite a bit. I’m neither a vampire nor Herzog buff, but I do appreciate a well-made movie, and am always game for a good suspense flick. "Nosferatu" is both those things.

Not your slick, hyper-edited, American-style vampire movie, "Nosferatu" is European in pace (meaning unhurried), and has a contemplative tone that reminded me of Wim Wenders. Like many of the best European directors, Herzog stuffs his film with plenty of beautiful, vibrant, poetic imagery: A silhouette of Count Dracula slowly walking towards us, lit from behind by a small circle of blue light; pale Lucy standing on a beach alone, dressed in white, framed in a foreground shot.

There’s also many cool shots that may not seem as poetic, but are really, really cool! The backwards tracking movement as Dracula attacks Jonathan Harker in his castle; the door to Lucy’s chamber opening and closing by itself (as she watches in her mirror); the opulent banquet peopled by fashionably-dressed young men and ladies, who behave as if oblivious to the swarm of rats gathering at their feet; the hundreds of rats devouring the same tabletop later.

Visually, this movie isn’t as overblown and ribald as Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 "Dracula." But I think I like Herzog’s version better. I am surprised, looking back on the film, at how little blood there actually was. A small cut on Harker’s hand; the bloody tip of a wooden stake. Compare that to Coppola’s vampire movie, where he seemingly severed a hundred arteries for every scene.

"Nosferatu" is very creepy, and very effective. If I have any gripe, however, it’s with the ending. The somber, somambulant tone of the rest of the movie is awkwardly inverted for comedy dialogue that seems to be borrowed from Mel Brooks.

*SPOILER WARNING!*

Von Helsing has just killed Dracula in Lucy’s bedroom. A magistrate and a townsperson enter the house, and find him still clutching the bloody weapon. The magistrate tells Von Helsing, "You’re under arrest."

Von Helsing replies: "Killing Count Dracula was justified."

Magistrate: "The courts will decide that."

Townsperson: "Um, sir. All the judges are dead." (Killed by Dracula’s curse, a.k.a. the plague.)

Magistrate: "Then lock him up until we can find a new judge."

Townsperson: "But, sir, there’s no one to guard him." (All the policemen, bailiffs, etc., were also killed by the plague.)

Magistrate (Pointing to the Townsperson): You! I am ordering you, as a citizen of this town, to arrest this man!

Townsperson: Alright! … But where do I put him? (He receives no answer; nonetheless, he leads Von Helsing away.) I’m taking you someplace I don’t know…

As far as tone is concerned, this last bit of silly dialogue is inconsistent with the rest of Herzog’s film. I would go as far as to accuse it of being distracting. However, throughout "Nosferatu," Herzog seems to mock modern man’s stubborn adherence to what they perceive as "rational." His Von Helsing is still a man of science. But he is also a thoroughly bland character, who ignores all of Lucy’s claims that the plague has been brought down by supernatural forces. He always insists, with a dull face, that scientific explanations can be found for everything.

So perhaps the ending is Herzog’s way of poking fun, one last time, at those who hopelessly cling to rationality. After all, the entire town has been decimated by Dracula—the town no longer exists! But these two guys still try to make everything they encounter conform to the town’s rules.

Or maybe Herzog is just a jerk, and this is his way of screwing with his audience. I leave it to others more familiar with his work to make that judgement.