Greetings, Boils & Ghouls...
... and welcome to 'Day Two' of "Awesome Horror Streams for Hallowe'en Screams on Roku" where I will be bringing you my top picks of the fright flicks in the carefully curated catalogue of macabre movies from the 'Shudder UK' horror streaming service - any of which can then be streamed to your television via the magic of Roku player - so, dim down the lights... and prepare for some frights! :-O
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which I published on Saturday, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
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Incidentally, if you have yet to see the 1922 film, directed by F. W. Murnau, you will find all the necessary info on the movie via the dedicated IMDB page, VIA THIS LINK, and when you decide to watch it (which you really should, if only by way of comparison with the Werner Herzog film) it is readily available on 'Shudder' and you can find it easily, HERE, whenever you'd like to check it out.
Meanwhile, here's a few more of the cinema posters for "Nosferatu the Vampyre" that movie-goers in 1979 would have encountered, depending on their particular location around the world:-
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%2B-%2BAlternative%2BGerman%2BOne%2BSheet%2BPoster.jpg)
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However, despite it's similarities with the original German and Spanish one sheet posters, my personal preference for this style (i.e. the 'light' background) is for the original Australian one sheet poster:-
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The main reason I favour the Australian print over the German and/or Spanish one is because of the text which adorns the upper portion of the poster... a picture may paint a thousand words, but (equally) a few choice words can convey just as much, as demonstrated here:-
Powerful stuff, I'm sure you'll agree... but, to round-off 'Day Two' of the 'Countdown To Halloween', let's lighten the mood a touch with some FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACTS... for example, did you know the character who puts his foot through the coffin and gets his toe bitten by a rat is none other than the film's director, Werner Herzog, playing a small cameo role?! Or, how about the fact that the coach which picks-up Harker at the Borgo Pass was actually a real hearse, that was still in use in Bulgaria at the time of the shoot !! :-O
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which I published on Saturday, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
For my sophomore effort, in this series of posts, I was going to propose "Nosferatu" (1922) for you to watch but, having waxed lyrical about that particular movie throughout many of my past Hallowe'en blogathons, instead I thought I'd suggest a more recent movie which offers a variation on the same theme. So, to whet your appetite, here's the movie poster for my film recommendation today:-
WORLDWIDE POSTER (ENGLISH TITLE).................IMAGE SOURCE: FlickFacts.com
Directed by Werner Herzog, and starring Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz and Roland Topor plus Walter Ladengast (amongst others), it tells an unusually contemplative version of the 'Dracula' story in which the vampire bears the curse of not being able to get old and die a natural death. It was (apparently) conceived as a stylistic remake of the 1922 film which (itself) was another German adaptation of the 'Dracula' story and bore the title of, "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens" when it made it's debut. The Werner Herzog interpretation of the story was released in 1979, under the original German title of "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht", but was produced in both German and English language versions... the English title being, "Nosferatu the Vampyre". Many feel that the German version is superior, on account of the German actors being more comfortable when speaking their mother tongue, which makes a lot of sense if you think about it! Anyway, for those of you that have yet to see this "cult classic", here's a very brief taster of the film courtesy of the original theatrical trailer for the movie:-
If you'd like to know more there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "Nosferatu the Vampyre", FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there's even more info to be had from the Wikipedia Page for "Nosferatu the Vampyre", VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, as with all of the other horror classics featured during this month-long Hallowe'en blogathon, if you're already a big fan of this movie you probably won't take too much persuading to watch it again !!
LINK TO WATCH 'Nosferatu the Vampyre' (1979) ONLINE VIA THE 'SHUDDER' WEBSITE
Fortunately for readers outside the UK, this seventies vampire classic also happens to be available via 'Shudder' in the U.S. and Canada... however, there are other resources at your disposal (most notably via subscription to Fandor in USA/Canada, as well as ad-supported on Vudu but that's US-only) with all three services having streaming channels for Roku devices in one region or another! ;-) :-)
Incidentally, if you have yet to see the 1922 film, directed by F. W. Murnau, you will find all the necessary info on the movie via the dedicated IMDB page, VIA THIS LINK, and when you decide to watch it (which you really should, if only by way of comparison with the Werner Herzog film) it is readily available on 'Shudder' and you can find it easily, HERE, whenever you'd like to check it out.
Meanwhile, here's a few more of the cinema posters for "Nosferatu the Vampyre" that movie-goers in 1979 would have encountered, depending on their particular location around the world:-
ORIGINAL GERMAN ONE SHEET POSTER............IMAGE SOURCE: FlickFacts.com
ALTERNATIVE GERMAN ONE SHEET POSTER............IMAGE SOURCE: FlickFacts.com
ORIGINAL SPANISH ONE SHEET POSTER............IMAGE SOURCE: FlickFacts.com
%2B-%2BOriginal%2BFrench%2BOne%2BSheet%2BPoster.jpg)
However, despite it's similarities with the original German and Spanish one sheet posters, my personal preference for this style (i.e. the 'light' background) is for the original Australian one sheet poster:-
ORIGINAL AUSTRALIAN ONE SHEET POSTER............IMAGE SOURCE: FlickFacts.com
The main reason I favour the Australian print over the German and/or Spanish one is because of the text which adorns the upper portion of the poster... a picture may paint a thousand words, but (equally) a few choice words can convey just as much, as demonstrated here:-
Nosferatu... he who is doomed to wander alone in darkness.
Nosferatu... he who is condemned to destroy even those whom he loves.
Nosferatu... a tale of seduction in the dark night of the soul.
Powerful stuff, I'm sure you'll agree... but, to round-off 'Day Two' of the 'Countdown To Halloween', let's lighten the mood a touch with some FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACTS... for example, did you know the character who puts his foot through the coffin and gets his toe bitten by a rat is none other than the film's director, Werner Herzog, playing a small cameo role?! Or, how about the fact that the coach which picks-up Harker at the Borgo Pass was actually a real hearse, that was still in use in Bulgaria at the time of the shoot !! :-O