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Vampyr

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Year: 1932
Run-time: 1 hr 13 min
Source: Criterion Channel Streaming

Notable for: Despite (or perhaps because of) sharing a director with Passion of Joan of Arc, this horror film is something of a cult classic.  At heart, it's a vampire story, which unlike Nosferatu hews closer to the modern mythos (this came out after Bela Lugosi's Dracula, so it's not really a forerunner in that regard).  But the main vampire herself only appears in a couple brief shots, and the film is really more a series of very unsettling and effective vignettes that star our rather clueless male protagonist.  The long, exquisite close-ups of Dreyer's most famous masterpiece are not here, but we do get his propensity for excellent set design.

Verdict: This is the first horror film in the series where I really felt something - no jump scares here, but there are some genuine slow-building horrors, such as a bitten woman slowly turning towards the camera with her terrifying grin, and a long, perfect scene that shows the protagonist sealed up in a coffin with a tiny glass window.  It's really good stuff.  Even the filler shots are filled with ennui thanks to the cramped, awkwardly shaped rooms and the hideous wallpaper.  I'm not joking - it's great stuff, and perfect for the Halloween season.  Absolutely worth seeing.
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