Vampyr (1932)

Gorgeously filmed, Vampyr is a classic old-school Horror movie that Vintage Goths will adore. 

Vampyr is graceful and slow-moving, gently leading you through a fairytale landscape full of spooky old ladies, creepy shadows, skulls, oddities, coffins, antique poison bottles, candelabra, religious imagery,  everything but the family bat!  You will be enthralled with the myriad of macabre touches at every turn, and the classic vampire plot.

This version (linked below) is in German with English subtitles.  But don't let that deter you - this film is a close relation to silent films (it was the first sound film ever made by the silent film director Carl Theodor Dreyer).  The story is mainly told through visuals, with minimal dialogue.  And what visuals they are! Every frame is a carefully composed picture.

Outdoor scenes are fuzzy, but no less care is taken with composition and pathos.

Aside from the beautiful cinematography, gorgeous lighting, and thoughtful editing, there is some real creativity and original thinking in many of the shots.  In one scene, we take the point of view of a paralyzed, undead man as he is carried to the graveyard.  We see the world as he sees it, through the little window in his coffin.  The effect is very unsettling.

Another interesting effect - shadows that move independently of their owners - is something most of you will recognize as an effect used in Bram Stoker's Dracula.  Only this predates Dracula by 60 years!  Some shadows in Vampyr have no owners at all...

I love the look of our heroine, Gisele, played by Rena Mandel ~

And she's not even one of the vampires.

I do hope you enjoy watching this film, and get carried away by its graceful movements, chiaroscuro lighting, and many curiosities.  Enjoy!  Link to the movie on youtube is below.

People just walk around holding candelabra like that's totally normal.

Don't mind if I do.