Nosferatu in Venice (1988)

You won't be disappointed!

hyped garbage

A different way of telling a story

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I'm a tremendously massive fan of the works and persona of Klaus Kinski, but apparently I should praise myself lucky that I never had to work with him or maybe even meet with him person. Kinski allegedly was an incredibly arrogant individual and literally an impossible person to interact with professionally. During this particular period – the late 80s – he also was at the heights of his violent temper, which (nearly) ruined all the movies he starred in. Director David Schmoeller made the ironic short film "Please Kill Mr. Kinski", based on the disastrous experience that he had with him during "Crawlspace" in 1986 and even the long-running professional relationship with the acclaimed director Werner Herzog got destroyed in 1987 during the filming of "Cobra Verde". According to the documentaries Herzog and Kinski got into several vicious fights and openly threatened to kill each other. Also this "Nosferatu in Venice" suffered enormously from Kinski's eccentric quirks. He chased away the initially hired director Mario Caiano, he physically assaulted two of the lead actresses and he refused to cut his hair or wear any make-up. And yet, it's a Kinski film and I'd move heaven and earth just to see it! I liked "Nosferatu in Venice" a lot, but not exactly because it's a good film… I'm much more fond of the whole idea and concept of the film. What a brilliant idea to set a vampire movie in the wonderful city of Venice! And not just any ravenous and mad-as-hell vampire, but a melancholic vampire figure like Nosferatu! That's just fantastic. The story initially follows Prof. Catalano, who's searching for the mysteriously vanished Nosferatu, but at the same time the professor is convinced that he is fed up with his immortal and roaming existence. Deep in the basement of a Venetian family mansion there is a tomb, and the heiress thinks that Nosferatu is buried here. They hold a séance to awaken him, but he resurrects somewhere on a tropical island. Nosferatu promptly travels to Venice, hoping to find love and eternal peace. "Noferatu in Venice" is slow-brooding and talkative, and thus definitely not recommended for the nowadays new generation of horror/vampire movie fanatics that swear by fancy computer-generated effects and monstrous transformations. This movie thrives on macabre atmosphere, moody set-pieces and sober cinematography. The plot is very messy and often doesn't make a lick of sense, and yet it's captivating from start to finish. This is also a very unconventional vampire story. Kinski's Nosferatu doesn't suck the blood from the virgin's necks, but he impales old ladies on fences and tears off the lips of jealous boyfriends. Kinski doesn't have to do a lot apart from demonstrating his naturally sinister charisma. The cast contains another two phenomenal actors, Donald Pleasance and Christopher Plummer, as well as a couple of beautiful actresses, like Barbara De Rossi.

Christopher Plummer goes to Venice to investigate the last known appearance of Nosferatu during the Carnival of 1786.Plummer seems to think that the vampire is searching for a means to put an end to his torment and actually be dead. He stays with a family who legend says, has the vampire trapped in a tomb in the basement. After a séance "the vampire" appears and then it becomes a question of how do you put the evil back into the box.Thats a poor description for a very moody, very good rethink of the vampire legend. In theory this is a modern day sequel to Werner Herzog's remake of the FW Murnau's silent original. However other than the fact that Klaus Kinski plays the vampire the films are pretty much separate films. Here the vampire is a force outside of nature, he goes out during the day, religious objects don't affect him and he has powers beyond those of normal vampires. To be honest this film's idea of vampires and their creation is very different than what is considered "normal" vampire lore.This is a film thats a bit more form over content, but its still weaves a magical spell. Its a very atmospheric haunted Venice story where mood and feeling is all. Its a film designed to make you feel creepy and uneasy and not so much scary in "the jump and scream variety". It helps that the film rethinks what a vampire is. Going back to folklore where things other than a bite on the neck was required to turn someone undead, this film keeps you off balance since you can't be sure what is real with in the film's world. Adding a great deal to the film are the performances of the excellent cast. Christopher Plummer's vampire hunter is a wonderful man of science who's pronouncements give a weight to the proceedings that would me missing in lesser hands. We believe in whats going on, because he does. Even in the early scenes when there is some doubt as to whats real and what isn't Plummer's intensity keeps things on track. Klaus Kinski as the vampire is a brooding, sad, sexual menace that says very little but wanders through his scenes with a power and intensity lacking in most vampires. Here is an ages old world weary soul who is forced to play peoples stupid games but who really just wants to be loved and most of all to die. The cinematography of this film is extraordinary. Venice is a character in every shot. You get a sense of place and of dread with every picture. This is one of the most beautiful films I've seen, and its fog shrouded vistas of Venice in the morning deserve to be hung on the wall.This is an amazing film, more creepy than scary, but one that is none the less haunting. This is a lost treasure for those who can appreciate horror films as being more than just the traditional sort. 7.5 out of 10 (7 out of 10 for IMDb purposes)

It took me over a year to get this film on video. VAMPIRE IN VENICE (Nosferatu A Venezia) is a semi-sequel to Werner Herzogs' NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE 1979. However, the only thing in this movie relating to that is the return of Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula (though he's just referred to as 'nosferatu' in this film).Easily one of the best vampire movies ever, it contains a very dark, deadly serious and atmospheric texture. Kinski is as creepy as ever, looking like a cross between Rutger Hauer and a zombified-Mozart! Other well known actors, Christopher Plummer and Donald Pleasence are great in the movie. The soundtrack by Luigi Ceccerelli(!) is breathtaking and memorable, and it seems that Venice herself is a prime character. The film dis-spells religious attempts against vampires and there are some interesting theories on vampiric origins discussed within the feature.My only complaint with this excellent film is the sound quality. The dubbing isn't so bad, but it's hard to make out what certain characters say at any given time. There are a few plot holes, such as, what DOES become of the vampire and his partner and where had Nosferatu been for all those lost years. Luckily, these trivial things don't spoil this arthouse, classy, unforgettable piece of Italian cinema. Let's hope it gets a well deserved DVD release in the near future.

This brilliant Italian vampire film certainly has an accomplished cast. Whilst Pleasence and Plummer are good, Kinski acts his socks off in reprising his 1979 role of Nosferatu. De Rossi and Knecht are also good, and pull off this whilst being so unbelievably gorgeous as well. What lets this down is the dodgy dubbing in the English language release that I saw - even though Pleasence and Plummer seem to have their own voices, the others look dodgily done, even if they are their own (which some must be). Suffice to say, watch the Italian version, and be amazed.