Nosferatu

Nosferatu can be considered one of the most famous silent horror movies of its era. Films during this year and time didn’t have the capability to have audio thus why it was silent film. However back in the day, there would be someone playing the organ at a live showing of the film giving the audience a more realistic experience. 

The film starts off with our main character Thomas Hutter and his wife Ellen, his job as a real estate man means he goes around to people selling houses. One day he received a job to go sell a house to Count Orlok in Transylvania. Despite all the ominous warnings, he continued his way to Count Orlok’s mansion where he finds that he is not what he seems. As the movie progresses we can see more and more of Count Orlok’s actions fit those of a vampire. Count Orlok shows his vampire tendencies and traps Hutter inside his mansion and makes his way off to attack Ellen now. Ellen prior to this has been having nightmares and seizures, she’s been having omens of darkness making their way to her. She realizes that only women without sin can stop Count Orlok. 

After analyzing the movie there are a couple of literary theories that I have in mind. The first would be Marxist theory. This theory focuses on the role of economic relations and social class in context. We know that the main character Thomas Hutter is a real estate agent that goes around from person to person selling houses. He does this job obviously because he needs money and wants to make his wife happy. Throughout the movie, as he is making his way to Count Orlok’s manor he is meet with many people that say he should turn back and that it’s a bad idea to go to the manor of the Count. But even with all these foreshadowing events and red herrings, he continues on because for one reason, money. 

Another theory that Nosferatu covers is intersectionality. This theory talks about different ways in which cultural and social markers of identity are intertwined and function together to affect how someone is presented in text or film. Hutter takes a trip to Transylvania to sell a house to Count Orlok while his wife Ellen stays at home awaiting his return. This represents what most families back in the 1900s would typically be like. The man goes out to work to get money for food while the wife stays home. This also portrays a kind of stereotype back in the 1900s where the man goes out to work and the wife usually stays at home making dinner or taking care of the kids

There are many reasons why I believe the horror genre has endured in popularity for nearly 100 years. One of these reasons is because it’s a classical movie genre, plus there are many people that enjoy the sense of thrill of not knowing what will happen and being scared while watching a film. People enjoy the rush of adrenaline they get when getting scared, usually by laughing afterward or having a sense of relief knowing the scary part is over. Horror movies can be both scary and comedically at times. They could also be based on a true story which adds to the thrill. Some people even though they’re scared, want to know what happens next cause all they can think about is what’s happening in the movie. Overall, this is why i think the horror genre has continued to reign in its popularity for the last 100 years.