Nosferatu in Venice

Nosferatu in Venice

Original Title: Nosferatu a Venezia

Genre: Vampire, Gothic Horror

Director(s) Augusto Caminito, Mario Caiano

Year 1988

Paris Catalano travels to Venice to investigate the last known appearance of Nosferatu  in 1786, yet after a séance the all-powerful vampire returns.

Nosferatu In Venice is an infamous release mostly because of one man, Klaus Kinksi. Batshit crazy or a temperamental genius, which ever way you look at it he must of been an absolute nightmare to work with.

Given that arguably Kinksi's most famous role came in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu The Vampyre it came as no surprise that he'd be approached to revive the character again which he made so unforgettable. So the deal was set for Kinksi to once again transform into the bald headed, chalk-white skinned vampire nine years later in this gothic tale set in Venice. Unfortunately Kinksi arrived on set with a full head of long white hair & made it clear that under no circumstances would he be going through the painful make-up sessions again, so that idea was scrapped & the hair remained. This was possibly the catalyst for a violent argument that Kinksi had with the director Mario Caiano on the very first day, Kinksi then refused to work with him. Caiano left after receiving his full salary, this happening after people had already earlier left the project. Producer Augusto Caminito decided to direct the film for free to save the film from collapsing under financial disaster, its also reported that Kinksi himself ended up directing segments of the picture. To top this off two of the actresses accused Kinksi of assault. This must of been one of many times when producers regretted having Kinksi onboard.

Given all the problems on set it comes as no surprise that the film feels an incoherent mess with pacing issues  & underdeveloped characters, the most notable coming from the legendary Donald Pleasence. He has a few lines of religious mumbo-jumbo & just disappears, it is a completely disposable part & a real waste of talent. That said, the film does have a number of positives that prevent it from being a disaster. First of all you have the location of Venice which is always so beautifully cinematic. The alleyways, crumbling buildings and rivers create a haunting atmosphere, especially in a scene where Kinksi is stood upright on a boat with the mist in the background, it is a visually stunning scene. 

As for Nosferatu, they choose to ignore many of the classic vampire rules, crosses do not effect him & he has no problems with daylight & despite all of Kinksi's problems on set he still manages to portray the character as an incredibly creepy beast that has almost supernatural powers. Vangelis best known for scoring Blade Runner provides added atmosphere with a very gothic sounding score. Usually I'm not fond of  80s scores & whilst he uses many of the instruments & sounds of the era that would usually be a turn off for me they really come together well providing a very gothic feel.

Given the problems on set this film should be a complete monstrosity & despite it being a real mixed bag it has enough positives to make it worthwhile, though it is one I'd only recommend to Kinksi or Vampire completists.

Rating: ★★½

Kinksi, getting his freak-on