This film marked the first appearance on screen of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and remains arguably the eeriest and most magical of the many film versions of this famous supernatural tale. Murnau’s use of real locations instead of stylized studio sets to create atmosphere, his deployment of special effects such as negative exposure and fast-speed motion to suggest a ghostly ride, and his casting of Max Schreck in the gaunt, spectral figure of Dracula make this the first work of the director’s maturity and also one of his best.