Dark Like Blood

Introduction

"Who can solve the riddle of life and death or fathom
the dark secrets hidden from the light of day?"
Carl Dreyer's Vampyr (1932)


Points for Reflection

Carl Dreyer's Vampyr (1932)

  1. the opening textual sequence explains that Allan Gray both knows his vampire lore and has become preoccupied with superstition, establishing a tension between cultural tradition and outrageous fantasy which underlies the entire film.  What do you make of the observation that he has become a dreamer “for whom the lines between the real and the supernatural [are] blurred”?  Do the strange events which follow seem mere delusions, or should the audience take all that the screen reports as actually occurring?
  2. what does Allan Gray’s appearance (clothing, equipment) signal about his character?
  3. at what moments does the film force us to adopt Allan Gray’s own point of view?
  4. do the doctor and old woman strike you as particularly ominous?
  5. do the various antagonists receive their just comeuppance?
  6. why does the lord of the manor point to the ceiling of Allan’s room and whisper “Quiet” (8:55)?
  7. why might the old woman with the cane shout out at the carousing shadows to be quiet (14:50)?
  8. what is the most common symbol used to indicate the dreadful in this film?
  9. does the ill Léone seem infected, seduced, possessed, or something else?
  10. is the romance which materializes in this film utterly unexpected?
  11. does the font of the opening title seem tonally appropriate given the genre?
  12. can you identify any potential symbolism inherent in the weathervane to which we cut repeatedly throughout the film?
  13. what do you make of the enigmatic man with the scythe who rings a bell for water transport in the opening?
  14. do the setting and lighting signal the film’s otherworldly subject matter, or instead establish a realistic, grounded world?
  15. is the artwork decorating the inn where Mr. Gray stays heavy-handed in its telegraphing of supernatural themes and subject matter, or does it provide clues necessary for us to follow the weird events which unfold?
  16. what of the decorations at the nearby abandoned factory?
  17. what does the art hanging on the walls of the manor signal about its inhabitants?
  18. does this film perpetuate those traditional, physiognomic prejudices which disenfranchise and “other” those with disabilities, or does it question such discrimination?
  19. what are we to do with the amazing, wide-opened eyes of Julian West, the actor who plays Allan Gray (and, incidentally, finances the film)?
  20. how do you imagine Carl Dreyer achieved the various special effects he uses to suggest the presence of spirits and the supernatural?
  21. do the various translucent, slitted, and perforated boundaries which proliferate in this film provide opportunities for ingress/penetration, or do they function more as solid barriers?
  22. do any of you with an art history background recognize possible painterly antecedents for some of the shots in the film?
  23. watch closely for the symbol of a cross and be ready to identify where and when you saw it.
  24. in which scenes does Dreyer defeat our expectations concerning normal lighting?
  25. what are we to make of how fuzzy the exterior shots are compared with the interior scenes?  Shouldn’t a profusion of natural light guarantee clarity outdoors?
  26. does the film’s orchestral score manipulate the audience’s emotions in response to particular events, or provide innocuous background noise unattached to the plot?
  27. what critical, emotional scenes eschew dialogue altogether, instead conveying pathos primarily through blocking and facial expressions?
  28. does Dreyer rely on stationary cameras, or does he employ handheld cameras too?
  29. this film is Carl Dreyer’s first “talkie,” but one which relies little on dialogue.  Do the intertitle cards, inherited from the silent era, provide too little, too much, or adequate exposition?
  30. what symbol fades in, then out, during the third bit of exposition from an intertitle card (10:45-11:03)?
  31. can you identify a thematic pattern behind the intertitle cards' backgrounds?
  33. does the decorative latticwork spread across the windows of the manor function more as a barrier or an artistic invitation to visual penetration/ingress?
  34. do you think the film's visuals disturbing enough to merit censorship?
  35. is this film eery enough to be discomfiting?

abstract painting with obscure man in distance to right walking against a building with lit windows
No. 178 (1967)
Poul Anker Bech



Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu