Entry#158: Vampyr

Trailer

If anything can be said about Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr, it's that the film's incredibly atmospheric, gothic, and hypnotically dream-like. What's interesting to note is that, despite being a "talkie", the film borrows many techniques and elements from silent film. The cinematography and dark mood resemble films like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, but Dreyer adds elements of his own style which allows Vampyr to stand on its own as an enjoyable and mesmerizing gothic horror film.

The film follows the quiet Allan Gray, a scholar of the occult and supernatural, as he checks into an eerie country-side inn. The night of his arrival, after finally getting to sleep, Gray is awakened suddenly by an old man who enters into his room. Saying only a few cryptic words, the man leaves a package in Gray's room marked "To be opened upon my death". Gray takes the package and ventures outside as he's soon led by a band of shadows to a desolate castle and nearby manor. The rest of the film follows Gray's paranormal experiences with shadows, bizarre dreams, and mysterious vampires.

The visuals are, by far, the best aspect of this film. Using special blurring techniques and a slow-moving camera, the film feels like it's been ripped straight out of a gothic horror novel. The imagery and mood are particularly effective, as the film's dream-like haziness creates an atmosphere that few films have ever achieved. Not only is the camerawork very effective, but the use of both intertitles and recorded sound make for an interesting and dark combination. In other words, the film feels and looks like a silent film, but the use of recorded voices, all of which sound like a dreamy echo, add to the eeriness of Vampyr.

This isn't necessarily a character-piece, so characters don't mean too much to the filmmaker. That said, though, the film has some interesting faces and Allan Gray's character bares a striking resemblance to H.P Lovecraft - arguably one of the greatest horror writers to ever live. This may not mean much to most people, but for a Lovecraft fan, it's like watching one of his stories come to life.

Sadly, the film isn't without faults. While Vampyr is very fascinating and has an amazing sense of style, the narrative feels very disjointed and confused. I understand the film's supposed to feel like a dream, but sacrificing coherence for style isn't usually the best idea. It alienates an audience and makes the film seem like it's indulging itself. Not only that, but the film becomes far more conventional afer reaching the halfway mark. It's still gothic and stylish, but the morality becomes more black-and-white and the ending feels totally predictable.

Vampyr is a very good film but it's not necessarily great. The atmosphere's fantastic and the subject matter is intriguing, but the characters feel only slightly important and the narrative feels more confused and less creative after reaching the halfway mark. It's not as revolutionary or marvelous as Nosferatu, but it'll still please fans of gothic horror.