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Nov 03, 2017Nursebob rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s first talkie was this dark, atmospheric tale of vampires and lost souls wreaking havoc in the French countryside. Although the circuitous storyline often seems to double back on itself there is no denying Dreyer’s eerie sense of style: weird shadows flit about on walls and ceilings, strobe lights flash from stairwells and window panes, and a triumphant sunrise dispels the dank mists from an enchanted forest. At one point a burial is filmed with a macabre coffin cam while in another scene an image of the grim reaper sits patiently by a gloomy river. And Dreyer keeps our perspective off balance the whole time with skewed camera angles and impressionistic sets which seem to waver in and out of existence as if in a nightmare. A largely amateur cast (Grey himself is played by a French-born member of the Russian aristocracy) devilishly emote their way through a sparse script while Dreyer heaps on the effects…reportedly breaking jars of jam in order to attract more dirt and bugs. Nosferatu would feel right at home.