By Jessica L. Smith.
With the recent release of Robert Egger’s ‘Nosferatu’, the timeless figure of the vampire has once again come to prominence. These blood-sucking, immortal, nocturnal figures have captured and haunted imaginations for centuries. Take Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s late nineteenth-century epistolary novel Dracula, or the mysterious, camp vampires that plague a small Californian town in the eighties cult classic ‘The Lost Boys’, to the compelling Cullen family in the infamous ‘Twilight’ series. We are no stranger to vampires, who have been meticulously explored throughout various forms of media and literature.
Yet, if the vampire is already so well-explored, why are we still gripped by them?
Vampire narratives can gather huge cult followings. Devoted and passionate fans ensure that the legacies of vampire narratives live on and are enjoyed throughout the generations. I have already named ‘The Lost Boys’ as a cult classic due to its’ undeniable lasting legacy on film audiences since its release. Quintessentially the eighties, ‘The Lost Boys’ both garners nostalgia for a bygone era and is celebrated for its queer undertones, such as through its’ punk and over-the-top costumes. The young gang of vampires, the ‘outsiders’ of the film, subvert stereotypical expectations of the vampire as an old and grotesque figure, and celebrate the beauty of being ‘different’; it’s no surprise that ‘The Lost Boys’ cult following remains strong today.
More recent takes on the vampire have also accumulated somewhat of a cult following. One example is Ana Lily Amirpour’s 2014 noir film ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’, which explores a young, female, Iranian vampire and provides an ultimately new take on the vampire figure. Amirpour’s protagonist, Shirin, is a punk vampire, who grapples with her ‘outsider’ status by prowling the streets at midnight to hunt down evil men. Whilst the title of the film evokes a certain anxiety, conjuring images of a vulnerable woman, Amirpour subverts these expectations by ensuring Shirin is a powerful figure as a female vampire, leading to a celebration of female autonomy. ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ received rave reviews and has gathered an, albeit small, cult following, particularly due to its subversion of stereotypes towards the veiled Muslim woman.
With vampires comes the wider notion of the Gothic genre, which continues to grip us today. The Gothic genre itself is timeless, channelling our fears and anxieties, and particularly aligning with the Gothic literary traditions that have intrigued and captivated readers again and again. Take Shirley Jackson’s Gothic novel The Haunting of Hill House adapted recently into a hit TV series by Mike Flanagan, which blurs the lines between the supernatural and the psychological to draw upon the Gothic sense of fear from within. Today, we incorporate the Gothic genre into much of our media and literature. We are not afraid to indulge repeatedly into creepy gothic figures like the vampire, ghost, or zombie, such as in the recent HBO TV series ‘The Last of Us’, based on the video game of the same name.
With the twenty-first century creating a lasting impression upon the Gothic, as well as the cult followings that surround the genre, it is no wonder that the vampire continues to surge to popularity. Egger’s ‘Nosferatu’ is simply one case of this resurgence occurring. A haunting and provocative Gothic story of obsession, released over a hundred years since the nineteen-twenties version, ‘Nosferatu’ resurrects the legend of the vampire to once again capture our imagination in an innovative way. With fluid camerawork, chiaroscuro lighting, topics concerning sexuality and unalignment with society, Egger’s film undeniably adds to the timeless image of the vampire. Now, we can be on lookout for the next vampire narrative that enthrals us once again.
Image: Igam Ogam on UnSplash.