Count Orlok - Tumblr Posts
queerness & horror pt. 2
nosferatu (1922) represents the beginnings of the horror film genre, fundamentally shifting its landscape. created by the openly gay filmmaker f.w. murnau, it features the ultimate queer-coded monster. nosferatu not only birthed the german expressionist movement—one of the most influential in film history—but also revolutionized the cinematic depiction of vampires. the film's simultaneous blend of seduction and horror paved the way for future queer horror filmmaking, influencing classics like dracula, frankenstein, the bride of frankenstein, dracula's daughter, and the wolf man, which followed years later.
bram stoker, the author known for his gothic horror novel dracula, created the first queer-coded monster in the vampire. unlike stoker's count dracula, i personally find nosferatu’s portrayal of the vampire to be superior. count orlok's strange, hideous, and creepy demeanor adds a unique depth to the character. it’s possible that murnau infused the film with queer undertones, seeing aspects of himself in orlok. the film even includes a bedroom seduction scene between the vampire and a man, which emphasizes these themes.
(the universal monsters represent a fascinating realm of cinema and i’d love to delve deeper into dracula as a queer icon, but i will save that for its own post heheh)
count orlok embodies the fear of 'the other,' driving the film's narrative with its queer and monstrous tones. stoker’s widow, florence stoker, recognized the similarities and subsequently sued f.w. murnau, resulting in nosferatu being deemed an illegal adaptation. florence won the lawsuit, and the court ordered all prints of the film to be destroyed. however, a singular print was secretly preserved, allowing us to experience nosferatu as we know it today. isn’t that insane? can you imagine all the queer horror media that’s been destroyed throughout history and never to be recovered?
alfred hitchcock is another prominent name in hollywood. while he was known to be a heterosexual man, he was inspired by and fascinated with homosexuality and queerness. he surrounded himself with queer family and friends, becoming a true ally who supported and understood the queer experience, which is evident in his filmmaking. many of his films explore queer themes, but i’d like to focus on psycho (1960), mainly because it’s the only hitchcock movie i’ve watched so far and one of my favorites.
the main character, norman bates, played by anthony perkins who is often speculated to have been gay or bisexual, adds an intriguing layer to the film. like the director of nosferatu, hitchcock recognized the fear of living as a queer person. there’s something relatable and comforting about that perspective; i feel represented in a way. as i mentioned in my previous post, horror filmmakers understood the advantages of exploring taboo themes. as a result, queerness and horror often intersect, both being perceived as bad, wrong, explicit, and unholy. ultimately, this convergence creates a cohesive theme that feels profoundly right.
The dead stares at you and you quietly hear ten voices in your head. One hums softly tetris and the other nine loudly run boy run.
mod
Nosferatu - art by Basil Gogos (2000)
the twins + KAITO! :)
"The Bird of Death"
2022
Nosferatu. Does not this word sound like the call of the death bird at midnight? You dare not say it since the pictures of life will fade into dark shadows; ghostly dreams will rise from your heart and feed on your blood.
-"Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror", directed by F.W. Murnau
Something I did last year for the 100th anniversary of my undisputed favorite vampire film. Among the countless retellings of Bram Stoker's Dracula, I find that none comes as close as Nosferatu to capturing the dark, haunting spirit of the novel, even if this film is not the most faithful of adaptations in terms of characters and plot. And no vampire on the screen, good or bad, old fashioned or modern, comes as close as matching Count Orlok in dark, horrifying majesty.