---
title: "Vampyr"
year: 1932
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/vampyr"
fi1m_id: "vampyr"
imdb_id: "tt0023649"
tmdb_id: 779
wikidata_id: "Q304923"
fi1m_score: 85
critics_score: 89
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-25T00:56:42.056064+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-25T00:56:42.634633+00:00"
region: "IS"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Vampyr (1932)

Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer · 1h 14m · Horror, Fantasy, Mystery

## Identity

Vampyr

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/vampyr
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** vampyr
- **IMDb ID:** tt0023649
- **TMDB ID:** 779
- **Wikidata ID:** Q304923
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023649/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/779, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q304923

**Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 89 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* Seventy-four minutes of people we would not ask for directions

> Carl Theodor Dreyer’s *Vampyr* makes human faces frightening through close scrutiny and disorienting cutting. Its hazy storytelling asks for patience, but we recommend it for the sustained discomfort of looking closely and still feeling lost.

## Synopsis

Allan Grey (Nicolas de Gunzburg) is the central figure in a dreamlike horror mystery. Around him are The Lord of the Manor (Maurice Schutz), Giséle (Rena Mandel) and Léone (Sybille Schmitz), along with The Village Doctor (Jan Hieronimko) and The Old Woman from the Cemetery (Henriette Gérard). Faces and surroundings become difficult to read as the film follows Allan through a strange adventure. The story proceeds through disorienting encounters and images, leaving his own uncertainty about what he sees at the centre of the horror.

## Review

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s *Vampyr* is worth seeing for how thoroughly it makes looking at people an uncomfortable business. The story can be difficult to follow, and there are stretches when that difficulty feels unnecessary. Yet Dreyer sustains a particular kind of fear: the suspicion that a face we can see quite clearly may still conceal something we cannot recognise. He allows us time to examine it. That patience accounts for much of the film’s power.

Louis Née and Rudolph Maté’s cinematography gives the images their pale, uncertain look. We can make out the people, but the space around them offers little reassurance, and the softness keeps us searching the frame for something more definite. Dreyer’s staging lets that search become uncomfortable without hurrying us towards the next shock. We were frightened by the faces, particularly Sybille Schmitz’s Léone, whose expressions grow harder to read the longer we look. Nothing elaborate needs to happen for watching her to feel unpleasant.

Tonka Taldy’s editing makes that discomfort harder to escape. The disorientation comes from being denied the easy sense that one image will explain the one before it; another cut can leave us needing to look harder. We share something of Allan Grey’s helplessness because we cannot get comfortably ahead of him. It is a demanding way to organise a horror film, but it gives the confusion a practical cause in the cutting rather than merely asking the performers to look bewildered.

Nicolas de Gunzburg plays Allan Grey without the assurance that might make him a reassuring guide. There is a stiffness to his presence, though it suits a figure who appears to have little control over what surrounds him. Sybille Schmitz, as Léone, holds our attention more readily, and Dreyer makes good use of how difficult she is to read. The performances can seem awkward if we expect ordinary conversational ease. Given time to watch them, however, we find that their oddness helps make these people frightening.

The screenplay by Carl Theodor Dreyer and Christen Jul is where our patience is most tested. Its people do not always acquire enough individual interest to make their predicament matter beyond the immediate fear. Some connections are so uncertain that trying to follow them takes us out of the horror for a while. Those passages remain a limitation, even in a film that has chosen to work like a dream, and there are moments when a little clarity would help.

Wolfgang Zeller’s music helps sustain our attention through those passages, keeping the unease present when the story becomes elusive. It works particularly well alongside the strange performances, encouraging us to stay with people who offer little reassurance. A horror film can use vagueness as an excuse for not having worked out its story. Dreyer’s care with faces, light and cutting gives us enough reason to accept the uncertainty here, though we occasionally wish he would make following Allan a little easier.

At 74 minutes, *Vampyr* asks for a relatively short evening and a considerable willingness to be puzzled. We would choose it when being unsettled matters more than solving a mystery. Give the faces the attention Dreyer gives them. If a horror film has to explain itself before bedtime, choose something else.

*Fi1m score 85, published 25 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond enthusiastically to Vampyr, with praise clustering around its dreamlike images and the unease they create. The reviews describe a psychological chiller whose power comes from disorientation: subtle staging, expressive faces and eerie performances make familiar spaces feel uncertain. Editing and cinematography receive particular attention for making viewers feel as helpless as the protagonist, while the film’s hallucinatory structure is repeatedly treated as a strength.

There is little visible disagreement about those strengths, though the lower end of the score range needs care. Time Out accounts for the lone mixed score, but the available material does not expose the critic’s verdict, so no particular objection can safely be assigned to it. The accessible reviews offer few reservations; the recorded spread is wider than the written assessments alone can explain.

## Straight answers

**Is Vampyr worth watching?**

*Vampyr* is worth watching for patient horror viewers who value sustained unease over a clearly explained mystery, and we score it 85/100. We find its closely studied faces and disorienting cutting frightening, though the hazy storytelling sometimes makes following Allan Grey harder than it needs to be.

**How long is Vampyr, and what is it rated?**

*Vampyr* runs 1h 14m. It is a horror and fantasy film.

**Where can I watch Vampyr in Iceland?**

*Vampyr* is not on any streaming or rental service in Iceland at the moment. It is available in 2 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Vampyr, and is it suitable for children?**

*Vampyr* has a UK PG certificate, but its unsettling faces and disorienting images make it a cautious choice for children, particularly those sensitive to frightening atmospheres. We find its fear comes from looking closely at people and still being unable to read them; the certificate should not be taken to mean a scare-free evening.

**How does Vampyr compare to The Spirit of the Beehive?**

*Vampyr* is the stronger choice for sustained fear, while we recommend [*The Spirit of the Beehive*](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive) for a more emotionally affecting encounter with horror. Dreyer makes faces and surroundings difficult to read; Erice follows a child’s fascination with Frankenstein into quietly troubling everyday surroundings. Both ask for patience, but *Vampyr* makes following the story more difficult.

**Is Vampyr based on a true story or a book?**

*Vampyr* is based on fiction by Sheridan Le Fanu, rather than a true story. We would not make reading the source a prerequisite: the film’s appeal lies in its frightening faces, pale images and disorienting cutting, though viewers should expect a mystery that remains difficult to follow.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **Radio Times**, David Oppedisano (5/5): The critic presents the film as a hypnotic psychological chiller. They single out its eerily poetic, dreamlike structure and visual ethereality. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-66i4wl/vampyr/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (5/5): Bowen praises the Criterion restoration for giving the horror masterpiece a ghostly clarity. He singles out Dreyer’s subtle staging and expressive faces as sources of its uncanny power. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/vampyr-bd/)
- **The New Yorker** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a radically effective and harrowing work of Surrealism. They single out its hallucinatory imagery and the eerie performances of its largely nonprofessional cast. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/vampyr)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (85/100, inferred): Bradshaw presents the film as an eerie, distinctive classic and a unique cinematic experience. He especially praises the hair-raising coffin sequence and its unsettling point of view. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/17/vampyr-review-dreyers-hallucinatory-undead-classic-comes-back-from-the-grave)
- **Time Out**, CPe (65/100, inferred): The available page shell identifies this as a review but does not expose the critic’s verdict. Its metadata notes the film’s real-location French shooting and psychological-horror significance, without showing what the critic praises or criticizes. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/vampyr)
- **Eye for Film**, Jeff Robson (95/100, inferred): Robson calls the film a profoundly unsettling masterpiece and a landmark of cinema. He especially praises its disorienting editing and cinematography, which make viewers feel as helpless as the protagonist. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/vampyr-film-review-by-jeff-robson)

## Details

- **Director:** Carl Theodor Dreyer
- **Director:** Carl Theodor Dreyer
- **Screenplay:** Christen Jul, Carl Theodor Dreyer
- **Novel:** Sheridan Le Fanu
- **Cinematography:** Rudolph Maté, Louis Née
- **Editor:** Tonka Taldy
- **Music:** Wolfgang Zeller
- **Producer:** Nicolas de Gunzburg, Carl Theodor Dreyer
- **Cast:** Nicolas de Gunzburg as Allan Grey; Maurice Schutz as The Lord of the Manor; Rena Mandel as Giséle; Sybille Schmitz as Léone; Jan Hieronimko as The Village Doctor; Henriette Gérard as The Old Woman from the Cemetery; Albert Bras as The Old Servant; N. Babanini as The Old Servant's Wife
- **Runtime:** 1h 14m
- **First release (Germany):** 6 May 1932
- **Genres:** Horror, Fantasy, Mystery
- **Box office:** $19
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acZJwgwmk4w

## Where to watch in Iceland

Not streaming, renting or buying in Iceland at the last check.

Also available in: GB, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Carnival of Souls* (1962): Another disquieting journey where familiar places offer no reliable comfort.
- *Hour of the Wolf* (1968): For more uneasy faces and a nightmare that resists tidy explanation.
- *The Spirit of the Beehive* (1973), Fi1m 87: A child’s encounter with screen horror makes ordinary surroundings quietly troubling. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive.md)
- *Pulse* (2001): Empty rooms and uncertain human figures make this a similarly patient fright.
- *A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night* (2014): Vampire horror with unhurried pacing, nocturnal streets and an unexpected tenderness.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/vampyr