What’s the Difference Between Nosferatu and Dracula?
At first glance, Nosferatu and Dracula could seem very different. A pale, monstrous beast that lurks in the dark and consumes blood is a feature of Nosferatu. In contrast, Dracula portrays a dapper man who also enjoys the dark and is a bloodsucker. It’s interesting to note that Nosferatu was originally supposed to be a straight-forward remake of Dracula, but major alterations were made due to legal concerns and a producer’s fascination with the occult, and the end product is a movie that has gained notoriety on its own.
The two stories’ approaches to vampires are where they diverge most. The attraction of immortality is a major theme in Dracula, and it is frequently portrayed through the character’s alluring effect. Throughout the adaptations, the allure of Count Dracula, his ability to hypnotize his victims, and the sexual overtones in his quest for Mina Harker and Jonathan’s meeting with Dracula’s brides are all clear. These characteristics are reflected in Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of Dracula, which lends the character an air of aristocracy.
Image Courtesy: PBS
On the other hand, Nosferatu’s Count Orlok is a hideous, terrifying character with bat-like ears and a hideous look. Dracula zealously pursues his victim, whereas Orlok stays in the shadows and stays away from light. Orlok just murders the majority of his victims, but Dracula’s bite produces vampires. In addition, the movie flips the conventional romance plot, with Ellen Hutter (Greta Schröder) deciding to sacrifice herself in order to eliminate Orlok, whereas Mina’s freedom is threatened in Dracula.
There is nothing like Orlok’s demise in vampire mythology. He gets exposed to sunlight while eating Ellen, which breaks him down. This is a big change from Dracula, where the vampire is weakened but not killed by sunlight. Later, the idea that vampires are killed by sunlight was included in a number of vampire stories, including ‘Blade and Castlevania’.
Image Courtesy: Michael Walters
Additionally, ‘Nosferatu’ is the first movie to associate vampires with demonic entities. Orlok gains his vampire abilities through his covenant with the demon Belial, which has an impact on subsequent adaptations of Dracula, including the one directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Orlok spreads a plague across Germany, signifying his demonic origin, in contrast to Dracula’s more subdued debut in England. This foreshadows how sunshine eventually destroys Orlok and is related to the real-life 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak, where it was believed that sunlight had restorative effects.
References to ‘Nosferatu’ can still be seen in contemporary media, such as ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ and ‘What We Do in the Shadows’. The picture of Orlok and the notion of vampirism as a disease also served as inspiration for Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Strain’. Despite many similarities between ‘Dracula’ and ‘Nosferatu’, ‘Nosferatu’ has developed into a seminal work that helped define the vampire genre and continues to influence viewers and filmmakers.
–Farheen Ali
