A foundation for modern Horror, Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula brought the folklore of vampires to the forefront of the world. Creating a character considered the archetype of the vampire, Stoker’s creative vision found its true success when the story was adapted into stage productions and film decades later. With Stoker passing away at 64 in 1912, he never saw the grand cultural phenomenon his work would become, which included the lost 1921 Hungarian silent film Drakula halála (Dracula’s Death) and 1922’s much more famous Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.
Also, a silent film, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, was a German Expressionist-style feature that has become a legendary Horror film, but, interestingly enough, it was an unauthorized adaptation of Stoker’s Dracula. Featuring a performance by Max Schreck as the lead vampire, he was not called Dracula; instead, he was Count Orlok, a vastly different character in many ways. Done so to avoid infringing on the original Dracula story, the attempt still failed because Stoker’s widow, Florence, successfully sued and won a court case, with a judgment ordering the destruction of all copies of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. What could have been the end of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, somehow, a few prints survived, and here we are talking about the film over one hundred years later.
A fascinating twist in history: had Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror been completely eradicated, we would not have had the acclaimed 2024 remake, Nosferatu, nor the striking 1979 remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre. Written and directed by German Filmmaker Werner Herzog, his reimaging of Nosferatu the Vampyre benefited from Dracula already being in the public domain, allowing him to work more freely with the characters and story. With this in mind, Herzog paid homage to F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (which he considered one of the best films ever made), while building his own story more closely around Dracula. An interesting hybrid, the result was an acclaimed theatrical film that achieved box-office success worldwide and won numerous awards.
A beautifully shot film, Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre is more about poetic dialogue exchanges and an eerier, moody backdrop. Relying heavily on the mysteriousness of Count Dracula (portrayed stunningly by Klaus Kinski), Herzog’s vision is of a lurking, monstrous creature that is pitiful and a bit tragic at the same time. In this 1979 take, Johnathan Harker (played by the prolific and talented Bruno Ganz) is asked to travel to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula and discuss the proposition of purchasing property in the German town of Wismar. Not yielding to an uncomfortable instinct from his loving wife Lucy (portrayed by the Academy Award-nominated French Actress Isabelle Adjani), Harker heads to Transylvania to meet a terrible fate. The worst part of the journey is that it results in Dracula’s emerging in Wismar, bringing a horrible plague of death with him. The question remains: can Lucy save her beloved husband or Wismar before it is too late?
Really a film of romance, loneliness, and the frailty of life, Nosferatu the Vampyre is a different type of Horror film than some might expect going in. However, this uniqueness is what makes it so fascinating and an iconic piece of cinema in the genre in its own right. So, while many show interest in 2024’s Nosferatu, perhaps they should take the time to flash back nearly fifty years to Nosferatu the Vampyre. An opportunity to gain a broader perspective on the subject matter, the good news is that you can now find Nosferatu the Vampyre in 4K Ultra HD thanks to Shout! Studios.
A new release under Shout!’s Scream Factory label, the Collector’s Edition of Nosferatu the Vampire arrived on October 21, 2025, with plenty of exciting features. To begin with, this is a brand-new 4 K Ultra HD transfer from the original 35mm camera negative, available in both English- and German-language versions of the film. Furthermore, it is presented in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) for even more fantastic contrast, color, and clarity. A great way to experience the film, you cannot help but notice new details in the transfer if you have seen it before. Beyond this, there is the older making-of Nosferatu featurette and audio commentaries, including one with Werner Herzog himself. All packaged with two discs (a 4K UHD disc and a Blu-ray disc), there is a lovely slipcase and cover art which displays the original artful poster of the 1979 film.
Altogether, this new 4K Ultra HD release of Nosferatu the Vampire should be on every Horror fan’s must-have list. That is why Cryptic Rock gives the 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition of Nosferatu the Vampire 5 out of 5 stars.
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