Weaving my way through the twilight streets of London’s Soho, I search for the Soho Screening Rooms. Inside I meet other wary and weary travelers, all collected together to look back into cinema’s gothic past. All sitting comfortably, the film rolls. Silhouettes stalk across the screen foreshadowing the spectral scenes we are about to revisit.
In 1922, the German director F.W. Mernau brought to the silent screen a totally unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 18th Century novel, Dracula. The now-classic story took it’s first steps into motion picture folklore in this chilling piece of cinema art, and then was promptly exorcised when the production company were sued for copyright infringement. Despite the immolation of all known prints, the film survived to inspire and terrify generations of cinema-goers and filmmakers. 91 years later, it has now been resurrected and restored to prominence this Halloween as part of BFI’s GOTHIC: The Dark Heart of Film.
Watching the restored film unfold before my eyes was a myriad experience. I won’t explain the story, for if you’re reading this you most likely have seen some version of Dracula by now (or should have). In our time where Vampires glitter in the sunlight and drink humane blood, it was nostalgic to see the haunting shadow of Count Orlok stalk across the frame and the terror of the men and women he hungered for. To watch a film where the pace and writing were controlled by the limits of the art and the craft of cinema was only just being carved pulls you into an ethereal experience like no other.
Is the film a horror that will keep me up at night? No. Modern cinema has ever-altered the measure and means of the genre, and we have grown beyond this silent-film’s quaint methods. However, it is a beautifully made visual experience that clutches your gaze and will not let go. You are captivated by the imagery before you, carried through the story by the haunting and foreboding score. You forgive its means and its age, recognising its place in history and appreciating it. Whether you’re a fan of the film, or have never experienced it before, make this the tone you set your Halloween 2013 to.
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