RensDad666’s review published on Letterboxd:
I love that Letterboxd and Hooptober has led me to so many films I never would have encountered outside of a film school or art house. Despite almost hitting the century mark since release, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr still wields a healthy dose of unsettling imagery & moments, and its influence is easy to see for a modern horror fan.
There’s a lot to adore about Vampyr. I love the leading title cards and book chapters, playing like a silent film with sound. They serve as an intentional mood setting device that worked more often than not. Music largely dictates and fuels mood and aesthetic as there is very little spoken dialogue, which might be one of the bigger reasons it all still works to feel so disorienting and unsettling today.
Between Dreyer’s soft photographic focus, and symmetrical aspect ratio, Vampyr still is a gorgeous film chock full of clearly curated, intentional shots. It’s powerful to think that nearly 100 years on, Vampyr is still being watched and discussed today. Anyone involved in making the film has since passed away, yet their collective art still stands as a testament of time. There’s something really beautiful about that.
🧛♂️🙋🏻♂️🏚️🪦💀🔳🩸
