I SAW NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR 2023

At long last, I got to view the Nosferatu remake that came prior to Robert Eggers' version, and damn it, I liked it more than expected. 

Yes, the budget of this Bram Stoker counterfeit is confined, but its innate intimacy  creates an aura that comes closest to the 1922, F.W. Murnau original than any of the remakes or offshoots. As such, director/writer/producer David Lee (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 2005) Fisher's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (2023) is a "talkie" version of the founding, silent, German classic, even as it, like the 1979 and 2024 versions, offers its own specialties. 

Like Fisher's impressive, Caligari redux, his Nosferatu is presented in black-and-white, but unlike the former, flaunts tinting, in tans, blues and deep pinks, with wisps of fearsome red, in the manner of The Tingler, Blood and Roses and the Sin City set. The culmination is haunting and impressionistic, all in the best, German Gothic tradition. 

The cast elevates the content (featuring character variants inspired by the 1922 edition), with Jones dead smack in the forefront, moving with spidery skill: spot-on for the Count Orlok (Dracula) modification. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that Orlok may be Jones' crowning achievement, even over his Cesare in Fisher's Caligari, in that the vampiric production allows him more time to render nuances, even as he taps the anticipated, bloodthirsty recesses.

Among Jones' castmates are Emrhys Cooper as the practical Thomas Hutter (i.e. Jonathan Harker); Sarah Carter as his principled spouse, Ellen (Mina); Jack Turner as Thomas' devoted friend, Wolfram Harding (Arthur Homewood); Joely Fisher as Ruth Harding (Lucy); George Maguire as the staunch Dr. Bulwer (Dr. Seward); Frank Arend as the anguished Demeter captain; and "Edgar Allan Poe", aka Eddie Allen, as the maddened, Orlok stooge, Herr Knock (R.M. Renfield).

In addition to the befitting cast, the movie's look, visually generated and enhanced by Christopher Duddy's exquisite cinematography, mirrors the original's staging, in particular the Demeter sequence and the Knock-on-the-roof segment. Otherwise, the layout invokes early, Universal classics and not so much the Dracula productions, but the Frankenstein ones, where craggy opulence is the mesmerizing mainstay. As such, Nosferatu 2023 cranks its gears to portray the Murnau classic as if it had been made ten years after the fact and on American soil. 

Eban Schletter's score is effective, too, adhering to a waltz-like flow and injecting a brush of brooding modernization, creating a tingling combination of new and old-school suspense, which works for the tight yet appropriate, ninety-minute retelling. 

If one is a fan of any prior Nosferatu, or even Eggers' 2024 release, Fisher's experiment, or as he calls it, "A Feature Film Remix," is required viewing, for his version is but another limb of the grand, Gothic body and therefore, deserves respectful contemplation. 

(Nosferatu 2023 is available to view on Apple TV, Plex, iNDIEFLIX, YouTube, Tubi & Amazon Prime.) 

Star Trek Inspirations Sail Forth This Season...

Two "Star Trek" inspirations sail forth this home-viewing season. One is an official prequel/sequel in the "Trek" franchise, while the other is a "Galaxy Quest" variant, and the latter (as everyone well knows) kept Gene Roddenberry's vision close to its heart...

CBS launches "Star Trek: Discovery", which premieres not only on the primary network, but via such streaming sources as CBS All Access and eventually Cave TV, and Netflix. (A new episode will dispatch each Sunday.)

There's been a fair sum of controversy surrounding "Discovery", which I won't delve into here, since it's been beaten to death, but the dramatic gist of this new incarnation links to the "primary universe" and therefore isn't part of the alternate-reality track contained in the recent, theatrical films. 

"Discovery" will take place a decade prior to the '60s Kirk mission and mirror "Voyager" in having two crews merge: one from the USS Discovery NCC-1031 and the other from the USS Shenzhou NCC-1227. (Wonder which one gains dominance--ha, ha.) The story line is serialized and focuses on a previously unseen branch of Klingons. The classic antagonists will look different than those who've come before, but likely behave as expected.

The cast is impressive, consisting of (now take a deep breath) Sonequa "Walking Dead" Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham (who holds a surprise connection to Spock's clan); Jason Isaacs as Captain Gabriel Lorca; Michelle "Tomorrow Never Dies" Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou; Doug "Pan's Labyrinth" Jones as Science Officer Saru; Anthony Rapp as Science Officer Paul Stamets; Maulik Pancholy as Chief Medical Officer Nambue; Terry Serpico as Admiral Anderson; Wilson Cruz as Medical Officer Hugh Culber; Chris Obi as T'Kuvma, the prime Klingon leader and possible clan unifier; and Kenneth Mitchell as Kol, the latter's protege, who's linked to John Colicos' legendary Kor from "Errand of Mercy". Incidentally, genre favorite James Frain portrays Spock's father, Sarek (originally embodied by the exalted Mark Leonard) and crafty ol' Harry Mudd will be played by Rainn Wilson (popularized in the '60s by Roger C. Carmel). 

On the lighter side of interstellar (mis)adventure, Fox serves up Seth MacFarlane's "The Orville": that's the name of the ship, of course...the USS Orville, to be exact. The Orville's odyssey takes place approximately four centuries into the future. 

Per publicity, "The Orville" isn't so much a "Trek" spoof as it's a heartfelt, humorous homage, where reflections of current events will be analyzed. For the record, former "Trek" producer Brannon Braga is on board, with Jonathan Frakes and Simon Pegg set to guest star. 

The cast is as impressive as "Discovery'"s and includes MacFarlane as Captain Ed Mercer; Adrianne "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Palicki as First Officer Kelly Grayson (who just happens to be Mercer's ex); Penny Johnson Jerald as Dr. Claire Finn; Peter Macon as Lt. Commander Bortus; Chad L. Coleman as Klyden (interesting that "Discovery'"s Martin-Green played his "Walking Dead" sister); Scott Grimes as Helmsman Gordon Molloy; J. Lee as Navigator John LaMarr; Halston Sage as Alara Kitan; and Mark Jackson as Isaac, an artificial life form with a Nomad/V'ger complex. To ensure guffaws, Norm MacDonald will manifest every so often to voice a blob-like creature called Yaphit. 

As a science-fiction satire, "The Orville" appears to be as much "Futurama" and even more so "Quark" (the cult, NBC '77-'78 series starring Richard Benjamin) as "Galaxy Quest". On this basis, one must wonder if "The Orville" might not reference similar productions as "Quark" did, perhaps tossing in some "Battlestar Galactica", "Buck Rogers"; "Babylon 5" and "Space: 1999" for good measure.

Considering MacFarlane's penchant for snarky humor, the series will probably push the envelope at times. On the other hand, MacFarlane has expressed what seems to be a sincere respect for Roddenberry's creation and even references "Twilight Zone" as one of his series' inspirations: an encouraging sign. 

Whether either show hits a cultural chord is up in the air, but I imagine we'll know fairly soon whether longevity awaits. 

"Discovery" premieres Sept 24; "The Orville" Sept 10.