Updated: October 16, 2024

Crawling cannibals, mummies on the move, werewolves, rat-men, and the inspiration for The Exorcist here are all your worst nightmares come to life.

This terrifying silent film of Dracula made by Murnau in 1922 is a masterpiece of German expressionist art. It is a hugely original creation, with a vampire who looks like a ghoul or rat-man prowling about, casting deathly shadows. In fact the appearance of Nosferatu's undead creature echoes such expressionist paintings as Munch's Scream and Schoenberg's self-portraits. Like these expressionists, Murnau uses grotesque and strange images to touch the inner mind.