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Count Orlok (; ; ) is a fictional character who first appeared in the silent film Nosferatu (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau. Based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, he is played by German actor Max Schreck, and is depicted as a repulsive vampire descended from Belial, who leaves his homeland of Transylvania to spread the plague in the idyllic city of Wisborg in Biedermeier-period Germany, only to find death at the hands of a self-sacrificing woman.
Count Orlok would reappear in remakes, played by Klaus Kinski, Doug Jones and Bill Skarsgård, as well as in comic book adaptations and sequels. He is also a character in SpongeBob SquarePants, debuting in the season 2 episode "Graveyard Shift". Orlok's distinct appearance, which is closer to that of vampires of Eastern European folklore than to traditional depictions of Dracula, influenced numerous later vampire designs, including those of Salem's Lot, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Blade film franchise, typically in order to distance the creatures from their more conventionally humanized or charming counterparts.
The character is nevertheless referred to as "Nosferatu" in the film's publicity material and in director F. W. Murnau's annotated copy of the script. The character is referred to as Dracula in some rereleases of the film.
In Werner Herzog's 1979 remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre, the character names revert to those used in the original novel, while the 2023 and 2024 remakes maintain the names used in the original 1922 film. In the 1988 sequel to the 1979 film, Vampire in Venice, the character is referred to as "Nosferatu".
Grau had a strong influence on Orlok's look, which was inspired by 's illustrations for Gustav Meyrink's The Golem. He may have also been influenced by the corpses he saw in the trenches of the First World War. Further links to the war have been noticed in Orlok's association with rats, which were a persistent nuisance in the trenches, and the character suddenly appearing enveloped in thick smoke, which has been linked to the poison gas used during the conflict. Grau also had the character correspond with Knock through letters filled with Enochian, hermetic and Alchemy symbols.
The character was played by Max Schreck, whose military experiences during the First World War have been thought to have influenced his performance. According to Grau's diary entries, Schreck, when in full makeup, was "shunned" by the Slovak assistants on set. His portrayal of Orlok was the first to depict vampires as being fatally vulnerable to sunlight. Previous vampire portrayals had shown them being uncomfortable with sunlight, but not mortally susceptible.
As noted by J. Gordon Melton, Orlok resembles folkloric vampires more than Dracula, being thoroughly repulsive, sporting a bald head, a beaklike nose, hollowed-out eyes, pointed ears, and sharp fingernails. His fangs, rather than being elongated Canine tooth, are positioned at the front of his mouth like those of a rat. He walks with a slow and labored gait, and his attire consists of a long black coat and tight pants which, according to , "give the impression of skeletal limbs tightly wrapped in funereal clothes". Orlok also lacks Dracula's suave or charm, acting with unrelenting strangeness, with his initial demeanor toward the character of Thomas Hutter being that of an old Eastern European aristocrat who has outlived his societal usefulness. All of these traits combined preclude the possibility of him ever being mistaken for a human, thus preventing viewers from identifying with him.
While never seen shapeshifting in the film, he is nevertheless shown to be capable of walking through walls, as per Stoker. His association with the plague, while absent in Dracula, is consistent with vampiric mythology, as vampires were once blamed for several historical epidemics. Unlike Stoker's Dracula, he casts a shadow and reflects in mirrors.
During the Biedermeier period in 1838, Orlok forms a pact with the housing agent Knock, promising him wealth in exchange for a house in the (fictional) city of Wisborg, Germany. Orlok receives Knock's employee, Thomas Hutter, and almost reveals his true nature after Hutter accidentally cuts his finger, causing the Count to briefly lose control. Orlok then feeds off Hutter after he collapses from shock. When Hutter regains consciousness, Orlok signs the documents to purchase the house and notices a miniature portrait of Hutter's wife, Ellen, remarking that she has a "lovely neck."
After Hutter discovers Orlok's vampiric nature, the Count attempts to feed off him again, but is repelled when he Telepathy senses Ellen's distress. The next morning, Orlok is discovered "sleeping" in a filthy coffin filled with earth. Hutter then witnesses Orlok loading a cart with several coffins filled with soil, one of which he then hides in, and they are driven off to be loaded onto the ship Empusa headed for Wisborg.
During his journey through Europe, he kills everyone onboard the Empusa and spreads the plague throughout the continent. Upon his arrival in Wisborg, Orlok infests the city with rats that sleep in his coffins, and countless people fall victim to the plague, forcing the local authorities to declare a quarantine and provoking hysteria among the citizens. Ellen learns that the Nosferatu can be vanquished only if a woman pure in heart willingly allows him to feed on her long enough to prevent him from seeking shelter from sunrise. Ellen coaxes Orlok to her room and lies in bed whilst he drinks from her neck. The sun rises, and Orlok is burned away in a cloud of smoke.
Some authors have compared Orlok's appearance to stereotypical caricatures of Jewish people from the time in which Nosferatu was produced. His features have also been compared to those of a rat or a mouse, the former of which Jews were often equated with. J. Hoberman notes how Orlok's actions in the film evoke "both the blood libel and the accusation of poisoning wells to spread disease that resulted in widespread pogroms and the near-extermination of Jews throughout the Rhineland in the mid-14th century". Others have said that perceived associations between Orlok and antisemitic stereotypes are unlikely to have been conscious decisions, citing director F. W. Murnau's protectiveness of Jewish cast members and status as a homosexual, which would have made him "presumably more sensitive to the persecution of a subgroup inside the larger German society".
Kinski's portrayal was praised by Roger Ebert, who wrote that there is "nothing pleasant about Herzog's vampire", which was "played totally without ego by Klaus Kinski ... who does honor to the seriousness of vampires. ... if they were real, here is how they must look", while describes Kinski's portrayal as "without doubt, the most repugnant vampire in cinematic history". David Annwn Jones notes how Kinski's character plays down the demonic aspects of the original Orlok and approaches Dracula more closely, as he mentions his noble lineage and has the ability to create more vampires from his victims. Furthermore, Kinski's vampire does not reflect in mirrors, unlike the original. Simon Bacon, in comparing Kinski's performance to Schreck's, notes:
In the 1988 pseudo-sequel to the 1979 remake, Vampire in Venice, the vampire, played by Kinski once again, is portrayed as a "Byronic hero" seeking death by making love to a virgin woman. The film includes several innovations in the vampire myth, showing the monster as being able to walk around in daylight, cast a reflection in mirrors and is undeterred by crosses. Kinski initially refused to shave his head and wear fake fangs for the role, though conceded and wore Orlok's traditional rat-like fangs for several scenes. Matthew Edwards stated that "Kinski paints his sadistic vampire with a sneering disgust for those around him", while Roberto Curti stated that Kinski's performance "drowns the film".
SlashFilm describes Heyerdahl's portrayal as "pretty disturbing" and says that he is "eminently icky as the fabled vampire."
Jones' performance received mixed responses, with Tarryn Gaherty of Collider praising him as one of the best aspects of the film, "masterfully combining physical acting with prosthetics and practical effects", while Jennie Kermode of Eye For Film compared him unfavourably to prior Orlok performers, stating "he cannot capture the same air of uncanny charisma as, which the film really depends on; neither can he compel the viewer’s attention as Klaus Kinski did in his attempts".
Skarsgård was originally set to play Thomas Hutter, but Eggers decided to cast him as Orlok after seeing his performance as Pennywise in It Chapter Two. Eggers' intention was to distance his Orlok from conventional cinematic vampires and to draw inspiration from folklore, resulting in a "hulking brute with a booming voice — less vampire, more undead Transylvanian nobleman", while still retaining details recalling Schreck's portrayal, such as fingernails, posture and the shape of the head. The makeup was applied by David White, who modeled the skin tone on that of a 17th-18th century wax sculpture. Orlok's design in this film is partially inspired by Vlad Dracula, whom the original Dracula was named after, with Eggers stating that "there's never been a version of Dracula or Nosferatu dressed like a Transylvanian nobleman with authentic Hungarian attire from the 16th century." Costume designer Linda Muir sought inspiration from the Transylvanian military from around 1560 to the mid-1600s, incorporating pieces of clothing such as dolman, fur coat, or Kalpak into Orlok's costume. Skarsgård, having refused to have his voice digitally modulated, was trained to lower his voice by Icelandic opera singer Ásgerður Júníusdóttir, incorporating Mongolian throat singing into his lines. Inspired by Orlok being an ancient Romanian count, Eggers decided to have him speak a reconstructed form of the Dacian language in the film. In creating the interior of Orlok's castle, production designer Craig Lathrop sought to give it a haunted look by keeping furniture to a minimum. Corvin Castle was selected for exterior shots for being "in terrible shape", thus coinciding with the "diseased" aesthetic Lathrop wanted. For Orlok's sarcophagus, he incorporated Solomonic sigils and Dacians designs. For his role as Orlok, Skårsgard wore a prosthetic penis, which was kept and framed by his co-star Nicholas Hoult.
Skarsgård's performance has been positively received by critics. Peter Bradshaw described Skarsgård's portrayal as "opaque and forbiddingly gruesome without being necessarily as scary as could be expected", while Matt Zoller Seitz described it as Skarsgård's "best work yet" which is best thought not "as a performance, but a repugnant yet strangely mesmerizing obscenity, excavated from a tomb and placed in front of the camera". Wesley Morris described it as "the grossest-looking, ooziest, most cooked, most rotted, most mustached, least-living Dracula I can recall. ... This 'Nosferatu' dares you to feel seduced and sick over the seduction".
Orlok's design influenced that of Kurt Barlow in the 1979 miniseries Salem's Lot. Orlok-like vampires have also appeared alongside their more conventional counterparts in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Blade film franchise, where they are, according to Simon Bacon, "utilised in order to convey a formidable antagonist in contrast to the increasingly humanised vampires that surround both Buffy and Blade; a return to the monstrosity that underpins the mythology". Orlok's design was also the inspiration behind some non-vampiric creatures, including the Remans from .
Orlok appeared in the four-part comic book series by Mark Ellis, which fleshes out his backstory and places him in the modern era. In this series, he is portrayed as a Carpathian nobleman from the 11th century who was killed after becoming a vampire and sealed in his castle, only to be unwittingly resurrected by a Crusades whom he vampirises. Orlok then causes havoc throughout history, only to be stopped in contemporary Brooklyn.
Orlok, referred to as "Nosferatu", was included in the 2002 SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Graveyard Shift". Writer and storyboard director Jay Lender had initially wanted to create an original character called "Floorboard Harry", but replaced him with Orlok as a tribute to the magazine series Famous Monsters of Filmland, which he had enjoyed as a child and where he had first seen images of Orlok. According to Polygon writer James Grebey, "it's entirely possible that more people have seen Count Orlok in that episode of SpongeBob than have seen Nosferatu". The character would appear in some subsequent episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants, and a child version of the character named "Kidferatu" features in . Robert Eggers, the director of the 2024 Nosferatu remake, credited SpongeBob SquarePants with introducing Count Orlok to younger audiences.
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