Count Orlok is the main antagonist of the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. He is based on Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. He was played by Max Schreck.
Biography[]
Count Orlok, also referred to as the "Bird of Death", was a vampire from Transylvania who fed on the blood of humans and lived alone in a vast, decrepit castle within in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, where he would terrorize surrounding villages via the spreading of his "plagues". It is implied that he was born from the supernatural seed of the demon Belial, and is also hundreds of years old.
In 1838, after brainwashing an estate agent named Herr Knock from Wisborg, Germany in order to make him his servant, Orlok has Knock send Thomas Hutter over to Orlok's castle so that Orlok can purchase a house in Wisborg across from Hutter's own house. On his way there, Hutter stops at an inn, where the locals are shown to be frightened by the mere mention of Orlok's name. Hutter decides to take the rest of the journey to Orlok's castle by coach, but his coach driver stops halfway and refuses to go any further. After Hutter does a bit of walking, night falls and Orlok appears, disguised as another coach driver, and drives Hutter the rest of the way to the castle. Hutter steps through the front doors and is greeted by Orlok.
Orlok and Hutter have dinner together and begin negotiating Orlok's purchasing of the house in Wisborg, only for Hutter to accidentally cut his thumb while slicing bread. Orlok's vampiric urges take over, and he sucks on Hutter's bleeding wound, much to Hutter's horror. Hutter then collapses in a chair, and awakens the next morning to find two bite marks on his neck, but he blames them on mosquitoes and ignores them. That night, as Orlok and Hutter finish up Orlok's purchase of the house, Orlok discovers a miniature portrait of Hutter's wife Ellen in Hutter's bag, and remarks that she has "a lovely neck". Shortly after, as Hutter prepares to go to bed, he decides to do some reading in a book about vampires that he took from the inn, and discovers to his horror that Orlok is indeed a vampire. Unable to escape through his bedroom window, Hutter hides under his bedsheets and faints as Orlok enters the room and approaches him. However, Ellen senses through telepathy that Hutter is in danger and intervenes by calling out Hutter's name, causing Orlok to leave.
The next day, while exploring the castle, Hutter discovers Orlok sleeping in a coffin filled with dirt, which is later revealed to be from his own grave as it is what allows Orlok to sustain his vampire powers. After the sun sets, Orlok loads a horse cart with several coffins and places himself in one of them before the horses carry him off. The coffins are eventually loaded onto a ship called the Empusa, which is headed for Wisborg. During the trip, Orlok uses his "plague" to kill every crew member, except for the captain and first mate. The first mate deduces that the coffins on the ship may have something to do with the plague, and begins hacking into the coffins, waking up Orlok. The first mate flees in terror and winds up falling overboard to his death, after which Orlok attacks and kills the captain before taking control of the ship.
As Orlok and Hutter simultaneously arrive in Wisborg, Orlok begins spreading his plague using the rats that sleep in his coffins, killing several civilians in the process and causing mass hysteria, leading to a city-wide quarantine. At the same time, Ellen sees that Orlok has begun spying on her, having grown infatuated with her.
Death[]
Count Orlok dissolving.
Ellen, reading the book about vampires that Hutter brought home with him, learns that a vampire can be defeated if a woman of pure heart "give freely of her blood" in order to distract the vampire long enough to leave him out in the open when the sun rises. Knowing that Orlok is the true cause of the plague and not wanting any more civilians to die, she decides to sacrifice herself that night. After opening the window to lure Orlok to her, she feigns an illness in order to lure Hutter away as he goes to fetch a doctor. Orlok soon arrives and heads into Ellen's bedroom, and she allows him to drink her blood from her neck, distracting him long enough for morning to arrive. Orlok realises he has been tricked, but it is already too late for him, and he is dissolved by sunlight shining in through the window.
James gave his death the Golden Chainsaw because it was an iconic moment in film history despite not being that gruesome.