Nosferatuand Dracula, at first glance, couldn't be more different. The former is about a pale-skinned, inhuman-looking creature who feasts on blood and hides in the shadows. The latter is about a seemingly sophisticated gentleman...who's also a inhuman creature that feeds on blood and hides in the shadows. Ironically, Nosferatu was meant to be a straight adapatation of Dracula before legal issues - and a producer who was obsessed with the occult - ended up changing it into the film most horror fans know to this day. Before checking out Robert Eggers' chilling update on Count Orlok, horror fans may be surprised by just how much both films ended up contributing to the popular idea of vampires. Those contributions, much like the monsters that inspired them, differ wildly.
‘Dracula’ Romanticizes Vampirism, but ‘Nosferatu’ Showcases How Horrific It Is
The biggest difference between Dracula and Nosferatu is how both stories approach the concept of vampirism. For Dracula, the seductiveness of immortal life is depicted not just in Bram Stoker's original novel but the dozens of adaptations that've followed in its wake. Count Dracula is often shown to have a hypnotizing effect on his victims, even without using his vampiric powers. His pursuit of Mina Harker also has a sexual edge to it - and so does her husband Jonathan's encounter with Dracula's brides. The film adaptations of Dracula lean into this, as Bela Lugosi- the actor most commonly known for playing Dracula - gave the Count a strikingly handsome flair that fit with his aristocratic upbringing.
Count Orlok has hypnotized his way to a prime spot on the rating platform.
In contrast, Nosferatu's Count Orlok (Max Schreck) is an utterly repulsive creature. He towers over his victims, with his pale white skin and batlike ears only adding to the horror factor. There's also a difference between the ways Dracula and Orlok present themselves. Where Dracula welcomes his prey, Orlok shuns the light - preferring to reside completely in darkness. Dracula's bite transforms his victims into a vampire, but Orlok outright kills most of his victims. Even the romantic angle is flipped: while the finale of Dracula becomes a race to save Mina from Dracula's clutches, Orlok's death comes at the hands of a woman: Ellen Hutter (Greta Schröder), who discovers that the way to defeat Orlok is a pure-hearted woman offering her blood. Dracula showcased female sexuality as a dangerous thing, with Mina's free-spirited friend Lucy falling into Dracula's clutches; Nosferatu lets Ellen retain her agency by choosing to kill Orlok on her own, even though it cost her her life.
‘Nosferatu’ Introduces a Major Element Into Vampire Mythology
Orlok's death also features an element that was unheard of in vampire fiction. While feeding on Ellen, he's caught in the sun's rays and disintegrates. Obviously, this is a fitting death for a vampire who mostly resided in shadows, but up to that point, sunlight wasn't one of the things that could outright kill a vampire. The original Dracula establishes that Dracula can travel in sunlight, and though it weakens his abilities, it won't kill him. Nosferatu would wind up influencing other vampire tales over the years, as everything from Bladeto Castlevaniadepicts sunlight as lethal to vampires. In an ironic twist, Castlevania features Dracula as a major antagonist, bringing the influence full circle.
Nosferatu is also significant because it's the first vampire story to link the idea of vampirism to demonic forces. Closer inspection of the contract that Orlok presents to Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) shows that it's emblazoned with demonic imagery. Director F.W. Murnau and producer Albin Grau would even give Orlok a demonic origin, as he made a pact with the demon Belial to gain his vampiric powers. Once again, this bled into another incarnation of Dracula, specifically Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation; the opening has Gary Oldman's Dracula renouncing God, stabbing a cross, and drinking the blood that flows from it, which leads to his vampiric transformation. Associating the vampiric with the demonic wasn't the only inhuman element that Orlok's vampirism brought to the table.
‘Nosferatu’ Associates Vampirism With the Spread of Disease
Image via Film Arts Guild
Being a bloodsucking fiend who sold his soul to the devil is bad enough, but Count Orlok takes things one step further by spreading a plague when he arrives in Germany. This plague is implied to be born from Orlok's demonic deal, as Belial is often associated with disease; a translation of Psalm 41:8 in the Bible describes an affliction that strikes David as, "A disease of Belial, they say, cleaves fast unto him, and now that he lies he shall rise up no more". This is a far cry from how Dracula's arrival is portrayed; when Dracula shows up in England, it takes time before people start connecting the missing to his nightly feasts. Dracula also transforms into wolves and rats, rather than influencing their movements. The connection to vampirism and the plague actually had its roots in Nosferatu's release; it was influenced by the outbreak of the 1918 Spanish Flu, one of the deadliest pandemics in history. One treatment involved leaving patients out in the open sun, where it was believed that the sunlight could have a healing effect - foreshadowing how light ends up becoming the weapon that destroys Orlok.
Nosferatu has been referenced by other media throughout the years, including SpongeBob Squarepantsand What We Do in the Shadows. Guillermo del Torodrew upon it for reference for The Strain; the villainous vampire known as "The Master" bears a striking resemblance to Orlok, while vampirism is presented as a literal disease that overrides its victims' bodies, transforming them into the undead. Even the Master's presence drives rats from their hiding places, serving as an unintentional prelude to death and disease. Dracula and Nosferatu do share a few key elements, but the latter has not only grown enough to stand apart from its original inspiration - it's also helped shape the modern vampire that audiences know and fear. Judging from the reaction to Eggers' Nosferatu, it looks like those differences will continue to bear fruit.
In Nosferatu, a reclusive vampire's presence disrupts a small European village, drawing an unsuspecting young couple into a battle against an ancient evil. As fear spreads, the villagers must confront the terrifying legend and their own beliefs, leading to suspenseful confrontations and chilling revelations.
Image by Zanda Rice
Image via Film Arts Guild
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