After the huge success of The Passion of Joan
of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Ar), Carl Theodor Dreyer made Vampyr,
a follow-up that would eventually transcend the horror
genre, in general. It's surreal imagery influenced many
directors, from Herk Harvey to George A. Romero, even
though the film was a very relatively early entry in the vampire
genre. This extremely original film is still acclaimed by cinephiles,
like myself, and film critics around the world, especially for it's
use of black and white photography that looks like something straight
out of a nightmare. Audiences in 1932 were not really used to a film
that executed themes of death, and the psychology of terror, but
now, after 76 years, they consider to appreciate the eerie balance
of Dreyer's eccentrically disturbing masterpiece.
Since the deep surrealism overshadows the whole narrative
structure, it relies on very little dialogue and plot, but it follows
the character of Allan Gray, a supposedly well-to-do suitor, and
obvious outsider, who arrives at Courtempierre, a remote and scarcely
secluded French village. Where suddenly, an intruder arrives and
gives him a note, not to be read after his death. By this time, the
viewer may be a little skeptical, even after the film just barely
starts. Afterwards, Gray descends upon a castle-like chateau of the
intruder, while literally trying to chase shadows, in one of the
film's most stunning  scenes. Then he discovers that one of the gentleman's
daughters is mysteriously ill, after she has been bitten by a vampire.
After this discovery, you can see that it starts going downhill from
there.
Vampyr was made just after Hollywood discovered sound, and so
Dreyer shot the film as a silent film, adding dialogue later. The
film contains many effects, and images that have been copied endlessly,
but never equaled. The darkly chilling atmosphere was never again
well-effected until David Lynch's 1977 cult classic, Eraserhead.
As you're experiencing this iconic nightmare, you are absolutely
drawn into Dreyer's shadow world, filled with dread, and erotic
undertones. It was loosely based on the Le Fanu collection of stories.
The most disturbing moment in this film is when our main character
is split in two- his spiritual and physical self, where the spiritual
half is nailed up in a coffin and carried to its grave. This particular
moments contains some of the most eerie shots in Dreyer's entire
career. There were two censored scenes: the impaling of the vampire
woman, and the death of her human ally in a flour mill. These two
scenes definitely upped the fear-o-meter.
 For the most point, Vampyr feels like a dream, where there is
no sanity, only insanity, where you're not sure if you're still
in reality, or make-believe. Even it was a huge, and substantial
failure, and almost ruined Dreyer's career, it is now known as one
of cinema's truly greatest nightmares. It is actually a film that
should be taken with so many grains of salt, because not only are
you really confused, but you're just on the edge of your seat in
total horror.
Being a film that is now over many decades old, it still stands
as one of the most frighteningly disoriented films of all-time.
Rudolf Maté and Louis, who were the film's cinematographers,
created an unnerving and twisted mood where lightness and darkness
seem to operate inside and outside the aspects of natural phenomena
and where the thoughts and feelings of the film's central characters
are given external expression in the visuals that they are surrounded
by. The camera angles give the film a very disturbing, isolated
approach, and the effect is not so much the same as Robert Wiene's
German expressionistic masterpiece, The Cabinet
of Dr. Caligari (1919) , where the viewer is taken on very introverted trip. One
can also see that the surrealism was heavily influenced by Luis
Bunuel and Salivdor Dali's notorious Un Chien
Andalou (1929). But
the look and the effect of Vampyr was clearly on its own merits.
 Beware, people who are looking for that certain type of thrill,
Vampyr isn't really one of those films. It is subtly disturbing,
without the uage of gore and shocks that could have very easily
took this film in a whole new direction, which probably would have
heightened the confusion even more.
Presentation
Criterion has included the original German version with
a new high-definition transfer from the 1998 restoration., which
also contains optional English subtitles. But not only that, it
contains a new credited alternate English texted version. The result
is anything not less than stellar, and it looks more cleaner, polished
with better black levels, and has much more information than the
previous bare bones Image Ent. edition.
Extras
Criterion has once again proven that in the supplement
area, it cannot be beat. Disc One contains an excellent commentary
by film scholar Tony Rayns, which is very detailed and well-prepared,
and filled with appropriate manner that is at both effortlessly
comfortable and most importantly, very educational.
 Disc Two starts with Carl Th. Dreyer (1966), a very rare, and
detailed documentary by Jorgen Roos chronicling Dreyer's career.
(29:57)
Then there is a wonderful visual essay by scholar Casper Tybjerg,
a professor at the University of Copenhagen, which focuses on Dreyer's
influences on making Vampyr. (35:58)
We are also given the privilege of a radio broadcast from 1958,
in which Dreyer reads an essay on filmmaking. (23:28)
Rounding out the special features is a 46-page liner notes booklet
featuring essays by Marl Le Fanu and Kim Newman, Korerber on the
restoration, and a 1964 interview with producer and star Nicolas
de Gunzburg, as well as a 214-page book featuring Dreyer and Christen
Jul's original screenplay and Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 story "Camilla," a
source for the film.
Final Thought
I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up to become one
of the very best DVD releases of the year. It is a very welcome
DVD edition of an all-time horror masterpiece. Fans of horror films,
or basically films in general will definitely enjoy Criterion's
DVD interpretation of this once misunderstood classic.
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