Yes, Director Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu" has mooore rats than this cow has ever seen, possibly even mooore rats than "Willard". Herzog("Fitzcaraldo", "Aguirre: the Wrath of God"), is known for making pretty, artsy Euro-flicks, mainly with his long-time pal Klaus Kinski, the John Carradine of German film. Kinski("Fitzcaraldo", "The Blue Hand", "Crawlspace") enjoyed a career which saw him grace no only Herzog's artsy Euro-flicks, but also many stinky American schlockers. Like Carradine, he was a fine actor who cud not turn down a role, any role. This time, he plays Count Dracula - yep the Big Toothy Guy himself. But Herzog's film is mooore a remake of the Max Schrenk silent 20's masterpiece "Nosferatu", than of the traditional Hollywood Dracula films(ie: Bela Lugosi). And, Kinski plays the Count as moore of a tragic figure, someone who longs for the chance to live and love and snuggle next to the serenely beautiful Isabelle Adjani("Camille Claudel", "Diabolique", "Queen Margot"). This is all very well for those touchy-feely Anne Rice weepy-hero vampire-lovers out there, but moost true horror fans have found "Nosferatu" to be a rather weak entry into the genre. Like many Herzog films, "Nosferatu" is nice to look at, with scenes set in lovely cobblestoned streets and regal castles. But as a horror film, "Nosferatu" simply cannot bring about enough suspense to deliver any true thrills. Like Coppola's disappointing 1992 "Dracula", this film is moore about setting, mood, and visual splendor than actual horror. Those with little patience will get bored quickly, as "Nosferatu" has neither gore, nudity, nor violence to get their cowbells shaking. Which is not a bad thing, of course. Anyone who finds rats creepy will get mooore than their share of the wiggins, as viewers get to watch thousands of their furry friends crawl all over the sets. But even the rats seem curiously antiseptic, and seem of the clean, cute laboratory-variety. It should be noted that Roland Topor(writer of "Fantastic Planet") plays a particularly giggly & hiccuppy Renfield. The MooCow says in the right circumstances, "Nosferatu" makes for an interesting diversion into anudder view of the vampire-genre, but if yer looking for real horror, the kind to curdle the milk in yer udders, then you gotta take the herd someplace else. :=8)
Review of Nosferatu the Vampyre
