Nosferatu the Vampyre

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Nosferatu the Vampyre

PG

1979

1h 47m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

72 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Jonathan Harker is sent away to Count Dracula's castle to sell him a house in Virna, where he lives. But Count Dracula is a vampire, an undead ghoul living off men's blood. Inspired by a photograph of Lucy Harker, Jonathan's wife, Dracula moves to Virna, bringing with him death and plague... An unusually contemplative version of Dracula, in which the vampire bears the cross of not being able to get old and die.

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Critics Consensus

Stunning visuals from Werner Herzog and an intense portrayal of the famed bloodsucker from Klaus Kinski make Nosferatu the Vampyre a horror classic in its own right.

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Clyde Gilmour

Toronto Star

Oct 23

Oppressively pretentious.

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Rachel Syme

The New Yorker

10/21/2024

Freaky films are meant to be shared, in the dark, like campfire tales...

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

09/22/2015

4/5

It's a curious mix: at times deliriously hammy, at others melancholy, contemplative and oddly beautiful.

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Nadine Whitney

InSession Film

Jan 29

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht needed to be at once profoundly beautiful and as seductive as it was horrific. Isabelle Adjani’s ethereal Lucy that provides part of the immense beauty of the film, especially when she is paired with the beastly Klaus Kinski.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 2

3.5/4

F.W. Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu remains the greatest vampire film ever made, so remaking the picture would make about as much sense as remaking, well, Psycho. Yet director Werner Herzog proved to be up to the challenge.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Oct 21

In stressing mood over action, Herzog has taken a big commercial risk. But for sheer visual poetry and cinematic imagination, his "Nosferatu" towers above all other Dracula movies past, present, and I daresay future.

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Jonathan O

@RT41230270 Jun 15

Outstanding German Gothic Vampire Horror Remake Film Ever Made. Is beautifully shot and it did captures the silent version very respectful and outstanding filmmaker and great cast and performance but the opening scene is so unsettling and disturbing seeing real life mummies which it maybe uncomfortable for viewers.

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power E

@torturecide Mar 7

一场关于死亡与虚无的视觉冥想，将恐怖片升华为流动的19世纪浪漫主义画卷。景观的"崇高感"：影片深度致敬画家卡斯帕·大卫·弗里德里希。凝滞的长镜头捕捉荒凉山脉与雾霭海滩，让"崇高"取代了廉价惊吓，展现出个体在冷漠自然面前的渺小与徒劳。病态美学：全片笼罩在褪色的灰蓝调中，散发着瘟疫般腐朽的气息。伊莎贝尔·阿佳妮圣洁的白皙与克劳斯·金斯基萎缩的怪诞躯壳形成剧烈对峙，构筑出"极致之美"与"极致之丑"交织的梦呓感。孤独的变奏：伯爵被重塑为被时间诅咒、渴求解脱的哀伤孤魂。这种美学处理将"恶"转化为了"哀"，使死亡本身呈现出一种静谧且永恒的悲剧力量

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Screen_Stack S

@Screen_Stack Feb 6

The Good: Klaus Kinski as Dracula was really quite haunting. Completely bald, utterly pale, with those horrible piercing buck teeth, Kinski's Dracula was really quite something to behold. He was also quite haunted and tragic, which we don't often see in Dracula. The Bad: PG horror movies in general are hard for me to swallow, and it's ESPECIALLY weird to see a very late 70s Dracula horror movie that IS rated PG. Maybe it's a me thing. I talk often enough about how difficult it is for horror directors to make anything less than an R-rated horror movie scary. Even if you take out the gore and violence in most horror flicks, there's still an element of suspense that seemingly requires a harder rating. The Alternative: Since I DO rip on this movie for being un-scary as a PG flick AND claim it's hard to it right, I direct you to Mikael Håfström's 1408, starring John Cusack and Sam Jackson. That movie is harrowing in every way.

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Захар А

@zak_112 Jan 10

More like magic than mystic as in original. Also a little too long but describes story more than 1922. Good film but not good horror.

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Oui L

@RT59273892 Aug 4

Best of the remakes by far!

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Lau S

@LaurainSilentill 07/29/2025

I love this horror movie! Damn great!

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Werner Herzog

Director

Klaus Kinski

Count Dracula

Isabelle Adjani

Lucy Harker

Bruno Ganz

Jonathan Harker

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Synopsis

Jonathan Harker is sent away to Count Dracula's castle to sell him a house in Virna, where he lives. But Count Dracula is a vampire, an undead ghoul living off men's blood. Inspired by a photograph of Lucy Harker, Jonathan's wife, Dracula moves to Virna, bringing with him death and plague... An unusually contemplative version of Dracula, in which the vampire bears the cross of not being able to get old and die.

Director: Werner Herzog
Producer: Michael Gruskoff, Werner Herzog
Screenwriter: Werner Herzog, Bram Stoker
Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Gaumont, Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1979, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2016
Runtime: 1h 47m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)