Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (Edinburgh Fringe)

A mesmerising display of musical talent and creativity that takes one of the great masterpieces of film and turns it into the musicians' own. Incredible stuff. *****

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It is an inescapable fact, which movie buffs must accept, that one of the all-time landmarks of horror movies and cinema in general was in fact a borderline rip-off of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The people behind F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror wanted to draw as much inspiration from Stoker’s masterpiece as possible without paying for the privilege. Much was changed – Dracula became Orlok, and Whitby became Bremen – but enough was preserved to keep it recognisable. The result was a provocative and terrifying exploration of desire and death and prejudice that, had it not been for German copyright laws, would have been destroyed under the orders of Stoker’s estate.

Australian double act Tess Said So have decided to try and make the film even more memorable than it was 95 years ago, by live-scoring the film as it plays. While it certainly is an ambitious goal, it is one they achieve by providing one of the most unforgettable dramatic events at the Fringe this year.

Read the full review here.