Nosferatu – The Real Story (2024) Review
Nosferatu – The Real Story (2024) Review
Sink your teeth into the untold story behind the iconic ground-breaking horror film that will never die in NOSFERATU – THE REAL STORY.
With Robert Eggers’ highly anticipated NOSFERATU about to arrive in cinemas, a gripping new documentary reveals the dark history and lasting legacy of the original film that’s haunted film fans for more than a century. From acclaimed director Robin Bextor (TWISTERS: THE REAL STORY, THE EXORCIST UNTOLD), this must-see documentary hits UK digital on 16 December 2024, courtesy of Reel 2 Reel Films.
In 1921, FW Murnau began shooting a silent black and white film, NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR, an unauthorised adaptation of DRACULA. Shortly after its release, the film was almost wiped from existence due to a copyright lawsuit filed by Bram Stoker’s widow, Florence Balcombe, who demanded all copies be destroyed. But like its nightmarish villain, Nosferatu refused to die.
A century later, it still stands as a cornerstone of horror cinema, shaping generations of monster movies and inspiring countless remakes. In this fascinating documentary, Bextor explores the film’s tumultuous past and long-lasting influence, with insights from historians and experts, all leading up to the 2024 reimagining.
This is an improvement on director Robin Bextor’s other named documentaries – TWISTERS: THE REAL STORY (which relied too much on showing the same stock footage) and THE EXORCIST UNTOLD (arguably there is not a lot that HAS been untold about Friedkin’s horror blockbuster classic) as I learned much more about the original Nosferatu that I had known previously.
I already knew about the legal issues raised as to the similarities to Bram Stoker’s vampire classic whereas the involvement of early 20th Century Aleister Crowley in FW Murnau’s NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR was news to me. With a handful of talking heads imparting generous dollops of information along with their opinions of the 1922 classic Bextor’s documentary is a welcome appetiser for the forthcoming Robert Eggers’ version, as well as a welcome prompt to revisit both the 1922 original and director Werner Herzog’s excellent 1979 version NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE.
On UK digital 16 December from Reel 2 Reel Films
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