Vampire Count Orlok is interested in a new residence and in his real estate agent’s young wife. F. W. Murnau’s unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”
It's not just a great horror movie. It's a poem of horror, a symphony of dread, a film so rapt, mysterious and weirdly lovely it haunts the mind long after it's over.
– Michael Wilmington,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Aug 2013
fresh:
Less frightening than haunting, Murnau's film conjures a persistent atmosphere of dread and decay, thanks in part to Max Schreck's immortal performance as Orlok.
– Dennis Lim,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Aug 2013
fresh:
Never mind that much of the story of this first important screen version of the Dracula legend seems corny and dated, for what counts is its atmosphere and its images, which are timeless in their power.
– Kevin Thomas,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Aug 2013
rotten:
It is the sort of thing one could watch at midnight without its having much effect upon one's slumbering hours.
– Mordaunt Hall,
New York Times,
21 Aug 2013
fresh:
So this is it: ground zero, the birth of horror cinema.