The Best Horror Remake Ever Made Just Hit the Criterion Channel: “Might be my favorite adaptation”
When we talk about horror remakes, we tend to talk about films that are underrated simply because of their remake status, as with the still-underappreciated Friday the 13th remake. But there are some reimaginings that rise to equal or even surpass the source material, creating an aura all their own. The most obvious of these great remakes in the larger horror conversation is David Cronenberg’s classic update of The Fly, but it’s far from the only game in town. In fact, there’s another film out there that deserves the title of Best Horror Remake of All Time, and it’s streaming right now.
As part of its November offerings, the Criterion Channel has added a collection of films by legendary German auteur Werner Herzog. The collection features 30 films, including Herzog classics such as Aguirre, the Wrath of God, and Fitzcarraldo. It also features Herzog’s legendary take on F.W. Murnau’s silent classic, Nosferatu the Vampyre.
Starring Bruno Ganz, Isabelle Adjani, and Klaus Kinski in the title role, Nosferatu the Vampyre arrived in 1979 as both a remake of Murnau’s Nosferatu and a fresh adaptation of Dracula, which got the Universal Pictures remake treatment that same year in a film starring Frank Langella as the Count. Unlike Murnau’s famously unauthorized adaptation, though, Herzog is able to dive deeper into Dracula lore, even calling his vampire “Count Dracula,” while also putting a distinctly Germanic stamp on the story. It remains an absolute classic and one of the most atmospheric horror movies ever made. It wins over new fans every year, as recent social reactions make very clear.
If you know Dracula at all, you know the broad strokes here, from the Count’s voyage across the sea to his new home in Germany to his obsession with Adjani’s Lucy Harker (a combination of the Mina and Lucy characters from Bram Stoker’s novel). Though Dracula‘s public domain status by 1979 allowed Herzog to use Stoker’s character names, Nosferatu the Vampyre is also very clearly a stylistic and thematic homage to Murnau’s film, and its patient, almost meditative pace allowed Herzog to dig even deeper into the original film’s themes. No wonder The Invitation director Karyn Kusama called it a “must-watch.”
Much like Robert Eggers in his 2024 remake, Herzog saw the film as an opportunity to envision the vampire as an agent of change and a walking, talking memento mori for the residents of the German town where Dracula settles. With Dracula comes the plague, and with the plague comes massive social upheaval, as people literally pile their belongings in the streets and host “last meal” style banquets on long tables in public squares while rats roam the cobblestones. It is a deeply affecting, heavily stylized nightmare, and if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s absolutely time to give this one a try.
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