Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

Last night I had a serendipitous event: I viewed the David Lee Fisher version of Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror. I haven't seen this movie, released in 2023 mentioned anywhere and imagined it has been overshadowed by this year's Bill Skarsgård/Nicholas Hoult production and thus had been largely ignored, though Amazon Prime Video and Tubi features it. It's been panned by some but I found it surprisingly well-done. Yes, it begins with some slightly stilted and occasionally bombastic scenery-chewing but settles in when one decides to watch it as if actually set in the period of the story. Then, both cast, dialogue and viewer adjust accordingly. The story blends scenes crafted to copy exactly some from the original 1922 Nosferatu, and occasional dialogue from Lugosi's version. There are some little jewels of cinematic moments, such as the backdrops appearing a combination of painting and projection giving it the primitive cinematic effect of the original. Stylish, artistic, surreal, and gothic, done in black and white. Except for the occasional bright red slash of blood or the golden lick of flames as when the Demeter burns.

As a whole, even with the "high school play" elements another viewer has panned, I much preferred this one over the 1979 Kinski Nosferatu which simply mirrored the original with dialogue and added nothing new (and believe me, at 82, I've seen a LOT of vampire/Dracula movies to compare it to). I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the latest Nosferatu so I can add it to my very long list.

So...we all have our opinions and though my seem to swim against the majority...that's my opinion and I"m sticking to it.

Is this film perfect? Absolutely not.

Is the acting the best you'll ever see? Most certainly not.

Is this film enjoyable? You better believe it is.

This is a far better film than the 'big budget' effort released recently. It's far less convoluted, and stays true to the original 1922 film.

I really love the fact the sets are stripped bare, much like the original. Only the essential props are used, and i think that is a beautiful touch. The use of light, and shadow is done brilliantly, again, just like the 1922 original.

The way they have characters enter shot from behind the camera, and have them remain in the periphery of the shot is another lovely touch to the way so many of the old films were shot.

I love the quirkiness of this film, their attempt to create something old in the modern world is bold, and for me, it's paid off big time. As i initially mentioned, perhaps the only thing i'd change would be the ability of the actors, though they really weren't terrible in all honesty. I perhaps think it was an extension of the 'old time feel' of the film, mimicking verbally, what at one point could only be expressed physically.

Overall, i really enjoyed this film, it was brilliantly made, and a real homage to the original film. If you have the choice of watching the big budget effort, or this, then in all honesty, i would strongly suggest watching this. It's far more fun, doesn't take itself anywhere near as seriously, as is a far better tribute to the original 'Nosferatu'.

Maybe there was a good idea to make a sound update of Nosferatu in the tinted monochrome style of the original but the execution is truly dreadful.

The acting is about what you might expect from a high school play. Apparently it was shot on empty sets and the backgrounds were added later. They look like AI images generated from screengrabs from the 1922 original.

Doug Jones has just a few scenes as the vampire, behind very heavy makeup. He brings the only point of interest but it's not enough to justify slogging through this sleepwalking snoozefest.

There are no real scares in this alleged horror film and it adds nothing to the original.

The whole point of this "remix film" was that it was supposed to utilize the old backdrops from the original 1922 feature, and green screen in new actors with actual dialogue.

However, director David Lee Fisher obviously changed his plan along the way, as what we get is instead a film where every backdrop seems to have been recreated with cgi (which explains why it took 10 years to complete).

And what you're left with is just a youtube-level fan production with embarrassingly bad actors lost in an uncanny valley. Even the ever lovable Doug Jones is like an intentional a parody of over acting, and the whole thing is just a sad imitation of the original.

Doug Jones was great as usual, the movie however was a different story. The cinematics looked like something a couple of high school kids would have done on an iPhone 2. The director may have been trying to go for a specific "feel", but he failed miserably. It looked almost like an animated comic book. If that was the feel they wanted then they got it, but personally I did not like it at all. Most of the cast did an adequate job but they where wasted on this movie. I love Doug Jones and love vampire moves, but honestly just watch the original 1922 version or even the remake from 1979, both are far superior.