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Book Title: Vampires on the Silent Screen: Cinema’s First Age of Vampires 1897-1922
Year: 2023
Author: David Annwn Jones
ISBN: 3031386426
ISBN13: 9783031386428
Review:
This was a book I was excited to read when Juliette from Spring Nature reached out. I was given the opportunity to read a critic’s copy. Now this made me excited since the basis of my podcast, Journey with a Cinephile: A Horror Movie Podcast, is to watch older films along with new things. I look on myself as a historian of sorts so this is in my wheelhouse. Funny story was that by the time I went to read this, my link expired so I had to get it reupped. There was a fear that I would lose the chance, but thanks again to Juliette for saving the day.
Synopsis: offers a unique insight into the iconography of vampires in silent cinema, presenting a detailed academic yet accessible discussion of the films and their sources as well as re-configuring the history of horror cinema. From the first ever filmic female vampire to a Dracula look-alike and cinema’s original vampire, this book discusses them all. It also includes the author’s discovery of vampire magic lantern slides and uncovers prior vampire films whose roots go all the way back to the First World War.
What I will warn you about ahead of getting into this is that this is done as an academic text. There is a wealth of information and there are references cited here. This is the type of book that I wish I had the time to write, because having the time to do research as a full-time job would be my dream. I’ll digress from there.
This book starts by giving the history of vampires through folklore and how there isn’t one specific mythology for it. Literature like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and films built what we know today. Jones explores movies before F. W. Murnau’s unauthorized version of Stoker’s novel with Nosferatu. It is commonly referred to as the first, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Early movies were lost so that is partially why Nosferatu takes this honor. It is also a great movie so there’s that. What I was saying is that Jones lays out how the term ‘vampire’ was used, but not automatically in the way we think.
I’m not going to go into too much detail since I want you to read this and to avoid spoiling it. There are crime movies that refer to thieves as vampires. That makes sense since they’re living off the wealth of others. Early vampires were also associated with fire spirits like in The Mysteries of Myra. Alchemy also could result in a vampiric entity like in Magic from 1917. There’s another movie that gets explored with Lilith and Ly from 1919 where we have a blood demon and science. This isn’t too different from The Golem. Then there’s one that I’ve searched for before realizing that it is lost in Drakula halála or Dracula’s Death. This one seems to share concepts with one of my favorite movies of all time in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari while also using aspects of Bram Stoker’s novel. There is also counterfeit films that are considered, like a movie I’ve seen with Genuine. This then goes into what is considered the first true vampire movie that can be found as well.
What I’ll say is that there is a lot of information given here. It is quite interesting if you like the history of cinema. This can be lost though if you aren’t willing to go back this far into your viewing. Maybe you’re just interested in learning about this great cinematic creature. I’d highly recommend it though if you’re looking for an academic approach and exploration of this sub-genre of horror.
My Rating: 8 out of 10