It is well-established that the 1920s film NOSFERATU is one of the great-grand-daddies of horror. It is now even more widely accepted that the movie is a true masterpiece of film, and one of the greatest silent movies ever made. So it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to the digitally-remastered version with a new soundtrack. I was not let down.

The story of NOSFERATU is essentially that of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but the names of the characters are changed. You know the basic story, of course: the real-estate agent from London travels to Transylvania, leaving his love behind. Once in Transylvania, he goes to the castle of Count Orlock (Dracula), a vampire, and signs over the deed to a mansion in London. The Count makes his way to London by ship (after slaughtering the crew) where he ultimately is drawn to the lover of the real-estate agent. He is destroyed before it is too late. You know the story, there are no surprise twists or turns. That is not the reason to see this film.

For one thing, its film techniques were way ahead of its time. Stylish and moody, it is truly surprising how effective such an old film is. At first of course, it takes getting used to the choppy silent film footage. But before long, you get used to it and begin to realize how well this movie is made. When we first see the nosferatu, it is a harrowing and chilling sight, one that transcends time and is equally effective today as it must have been then.

There are more effective moments. My own particular favorite came when Orlock was sailing to England on the ship. As the crew mysteriously died one by one, the remaining members became more paranoid. One crew member is down in the hold when he glances over towards the boxes which hold the resting vampire. Slowly the image of Orlock sitting on top of the box fades in, absolutely terrifying both the crew-member and the audience. If only movies made today, with all their technological advances, could be so effective!

The real virtue of this particular version of the film is the fact that it is digitally-remastered, which of course makes a world of difference when it comes to such an old film. What really separates this move, for better or for worse, is its sound-track. The heavy metal band Type O Negative created new songs specifically for this film and for the most part, they actually work. I am not necessarily and huge heavy metal fan, but the gothic tone of Type O Negative's work does jive with this movie. There are some moments when I felt the song and the film did not mesh, but it was more the IDEA of the new soundtrack that I liked. A soundtrack to a great silent film can be an interpretation of it, and why not have many versions of NOSFERATU be released with many different soundtracks? I think it would be very interesting to see (and hear).