A century ago, when F.W. Murnau couldn’t get the rights to do a film version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it didn’t stop him. The way vampires beget vampires through acts of savagery, Murnau pulled a savage move and invented Nosferatu’s Count Orlok so he could make his own film. His vampire was played by Max Schreck.
Bela Lugosi wouldn’t portray Dracula for almost a decade. Universal’s Dracula (1931) would change the vampire’s look forever. The suave, well-dressed count was much more palatable and romantic than the bald, bat-like creature we came to know in Nosferatu (1922). Although Orlok isn’t a household name like Dracula, his look and Max Schreck’s portrayal laid the groundwork for an alternative vampire style that lives on to this day.
Here are six best examples of Max Schreck’s Count Orlok influencing the look and sometimes the behavior of more contemporary portrayals with Nosferatu-inspired vampires.
1Willem DaFoe as Max Shreck
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
This one might be a little self-referential, but because Willem Dafoe is a master at what he does, he gets a spot on this list. Dafoe played an actor who played a character, so it’s essentially two roles. It was likely easier than playing two actual roles since he played Max Schreck as a method actor who was mysterious and seclusive until duty called.
2Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
It’s important to note this isn’t a remake of the 1922 classic. It’s a retelling of Dracula’s tale using the aesthetic of Count Orlok. Kinski looked a lot like he could be the father of The Weekly World News Bat Boy, with ears that looked even more bat-like than Orlok’s. In this movie, Dracula never bothered to join the Hair Club for Men.
3Andrew Stehlin as Arvin
30 Days of Night (2007)
This comic book adaptation is wildly popular among vampire-leaning horror fans. The brutal and bloody massacre takes place in Barrow, Alaska, during its month-long polar night. It’s a convenient place for a brood of vampires to find respite and feast on unwilling souls.
Arvin is a beast of a vampire whose vicious kills are more feral than Orlok’s, but the look is there. Arvin is an upgrade designed to feed the ferocious appetite of modern fans.
4The Gentlemen
Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV Series (1997-2003)
Their tailored suits are dated, even though only a quarter of a century old, but their lean figures borrow greatly from Schreck’s form. In season 4, this creepy group of levitating demons dropped a combination of the voguish vampire and the Chiroptera human in one look. They aren’t technically vampires, but the Orlok influence is evident.
5Ben Fransham as Petyr
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
In most films, we see comedy relief break the tension. In Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s vampire mockumentary, we find this 8000-year-old vampire being both a source of tension and the butt of many jokes. In a house full of suave vampires, Petyr is an ancient vampire who doesn’t play well with others. He needs blood without all the pretentiousness that goes with mesmerizing a victim.
If designed for a non-comedy, Petyr would be one of the scariest vampires ever put to film, but it’s up for debate because…
6Reggie Nader as Kurt Barlow
Salem’s Lot (1979)
Nader’s Barlow is perhaps the single most recognizable portrayal of a bald, bat-like vampire of all time (aside from Schreck’s). Sadly, he’s uncredited, but somehow, that gives his creature portrayal more weight. He IS that fang-faced monster with blue skin. It’s not make-up. I
f you were lucky enough to see the TV series based on Stephen King’s novel, Salem’s Lot when it first aired, you were treated to a jump-out-of-your-seat visual you would spend a lifetime trying to recapture. Hands down, Barlow borrowed Orlok in the best ways possible. May the bat-like vampire design never see the light of day and stay with us forever.
