As we begin fall, my favorite thing to do is watch horror films. And thus, even though it is still September, I decided to start the season off right with a couple of scary movies. This past week I watched An American Werewolf in London [IMC DVD 398.2454 A512 1997], Nosferatu the Vampyre [IMC DVD 791.4361 N897 2002], and Rosemary’s Baby [IMC DVD 133.426 R812 2006].
I really enjoyed An American Werewolf in London. This is probably one of the more accessible horror movies because, while it has a decent amount of violence, there is also humorous moments throughout the movie that help to mitigate the violence. The most famous scene from this movie is where David, the main character, has his first transformation into a werewolf. This scene was huge because it was done completely without any computer effects added. I would recommend it if you haven’t yet had the chance to watch this movie.
My second horror film, Nosferatu the Vampyre, is one where I have seen several versions already, but had not yet had the chance to watch Werner Herzog’s 1979 version. This version was interesting because Herzog ended up switching the two female character’s roles: typically Lucy, the friend of Mina Harker (Jonathon Harker’s wife), is the one who gets attacked by Dracula (Nosferatu), and then must be saved by Van Helsing. In this version however, Lucy is Jonathon Harker’s wife and Mina is a friend that she stays with when Jonathon goes to visit Count Dracula. Many of the other details stayed the same, but it was interesting to me that Herzog decided to change such a major part of the story. As far as the acting, I felt it was a bit disappointing—the Harkers in the beginning seem very stiff and only Lucy Harker manages to grow as a character throughout the film. However, Dracula is always an interesting story to watch, so I’m glad I got the opportunity to see it.
Lastly, I finally got to watch Rosemary’s Baby, which had been on my horror radar for a while. This movie was extremely interesting because I feel like the first moment where the film shifts into a “horror film”, there isn’t much change in the setting and music of the film. This is in part because Rosemary is experiencing what she believes to be a dream, so for her there is no reason for panic or confusion. However, once she realizes that it is not a dream, that is when the music finally changes. This whole scene was wonderful because of that shift and how the movie itself seems to be following Rosemary’s thoughts and emotions instead of changing for the viewer.
The IMC will be changing over to Halloween movies soon! If you want to track your own film travelogue adventure, you can do that here: https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die/ .
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