Looks Like Orlok: Difference between revisions

[[File:NosferatuOrlok-spongebob.jpg|link=SpongeBob SquarePants|thumb|300px|[[Nosferatu|The (Film)count himself]]... [[Psychotic Smirk|rightsmirking.]]]]

History time: In the original folklore, most vampires were short, ugly, Eastern European peasants. Then Polidori creates the character of [[The Vampyre (Literature)|Lord Ruthven]] and suddenly they're all elegant, English, aristocratic and [[No Celebrities Were Harmed|look suspiciously like Lord Byron]]. Rymer's ''[[Varney the Vampire (Literature)|Varney the Vampire]]'' gives them fangs, but makes no real change beyond that. Then Sheridan Le Fanu's ''[[Carmilla (Literature)|Carmilla]]'' was written, and vampires suddenly became angsty, alluring, [[Lesbian Vampire|bi-sexual]] upper-class gothic girls. Then, ''[[Dracula (Literaturenovel)|Dracula]]'' was written, and they're elegant, ''Eastern European'' aristocrats, [[Evil Is Sexy|sexy and deadly]], outwardly beautiful yet disguising an inner corruption. Thus, horror turned to fetish, and <s>pop culture</s> ''the world'' was never the same again.

In the early '20s, F.W. Murnau had a great idea. Since the [[German Expressionism|German Expressionist]] movement was all about stylization, why not apply this to vampires? Why not create a vampire that [[Red Right Hand|looks exactly like what he is]]: a parasitic bloodsucker? And so, ''[[Nosferatu (Film)|Nosferatu]]'' got made, and [[Keep Circulating the Tapes|very nearly]] destroyed.

In order to qualify as a character who [['''Looks Like Orlok]]''', they must possess some combination of the following:

* Count Chocula, the spokes-vampire for [[General Mills]]' chocolate/marshmallow cereal, isn't ''purely'' this trope -- hetrope—he has the Lugosian dark hair and widows's peak and tidy, aristocratic clothing, but he has the pointed ears, extra-long fingers with claw-like nails, narrow, hooked nose, and pointy little rat-fangs in place of his incisors rather than as canine teeth. He really owes more to Orlok than to Lugosi.

* ''[[Hellsing (Animeanime)|Hellsing]]'', the antagonist Incognito's appearance seems to be based on that of Count Orlok. By contrast, Alucard is based on the more popular imagery of the [[Evil Is Sexy|suave]] Dracula. Then again, [[Sdrawkcab Name|Alucard]] ''[[Sdrawkcab Name|is]]'' [[Sdrawkcab Name|Dracula.]]

* ''[[Black Cat (Mangamanga)|Black Cat]]'' gives us Preta [[Awesome McCoolname|Ghoul]]. He used to have hair, though, until it rotted out.

* Moloch from ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'', especially after he gets cancer.

* In a [[Jhonen Vasquez]] comic, an [[Vampire Vannabe|angsty teenage boy]] desperately wishes to be made a real vampire-- andvampire—and his wish is granted by one. Instead of becoming a [[Evil Is Cool|hip and stylish regent of the night]], though, he gains a hideous form whose oversized bald cranium and tusk-like fangs only keep growing as he drinks blood. The final page shows him far into the future, with a head the size of a van, watching TV and thinking "That ''fucking'' vampire."

* The Carnival Geek Cannibal version of The Vulture in ''[[Spider -Man: Noir]]'' is based on Orlok.

* During Punisher's "[[The Punisher|FrankenCastle]]" arc, [[Morbius]] looked a little more like this than usual due in part to not drinking enough blood.

== Fan FicWorks ==

* The ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]''/''[[Dracula]]'' [[Fusion Fic]] ''[[Bram Stokers Ozymandias (Fanfic)|Bram Stoker's Ozymandias]]'' features a vampiric version of [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Adrian Veidt]] who looks a bit like this (though with pointed canines instead of incisors, a full head of hair even if it's a bit thin, and an age-related stoop rather than a real hump) before he regenerates to his handsome, canon form.

* [[Werner Herzog (Creator)|Werner Herzog]]'s movie ''[[Nosferatu the Vampyre (Film)|Nosferatu the Vampyre]]'', staring [[Klaus Kinski]], which is sort of a remake, keeps this character design, but changes Orlok's name back to Dracula.

* The bad guys from ''[[Blade II]]''.

* [[A Nightmare Onon Elm Street (Film)|Freddy Krueger's]] appearance is somewhat based off of this. In fact, Robert Englund even once stated that he based some of Freddy's movements on Orlok's.

* The vampire in the 1979 TV movie version of [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[Salems'Salem's Lot (Literature)|Salems Lot]]''.

* The vampires of ''[[Thirty30 Days of Night (Film)|Thirty Days of Night]]'' are a successful balance of a Nosferatu-like vampire and the prevalent "pretty" vampire, so much so they seem to have sparked a revival of the former appearance. They have black pupils, pasty-white skin, claws, and shark-like teeth.

* One of the running gags in the [[Mystery Science Theater 3000 (TV)|mst-ing]] of ''Escape 2000'' is that the main female character looks like Orlok.

* In ''[[Van Helsing (Film)|Van Helsing]]'', Dracula and his wives all play out the [[One-Winged Angel]] trope and can transform from their good-looking normal appearance into bat monsters. In the case of Dracula himself, his "true form" is an Orlok-looking creature with bat wings.

* The chief librarian of the monastery in ''[[The Name of the Rose (Literature)|The Name of the Rose]]'' looks like Orlok. It's set in [[The Dung Ages]], so all the [[Grotesque Gallery|ugliest monks]] seem to wield high influence.

* The makers of ''[[Star Trek Nemesis (Film)|Star Trek: Nemesis]]'' were going for this look for the Remans. They ended up looking like [[Lurid Tales of Doom|Bat Boy]].

* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings (Filmfilm)|The Lord of the Rings]]'', Gollum looks like a wet version of this.

* The night-terror creatures in ''[[T HeyThey]]'' have heads that Look Like Orlok, while their bodies are even more extreme in their bestial, spindly twistedness.

* Timothy Spall's [[Harry Potter (Filmfilm)|Peter Pettigrew]] has elements of this, though he's only bald''ing'' and he ditches the longcoat for a much-less-impressive cheap suit. He's [[The Renfield]], and the character, like Orlock, is associated with rats, so it's kinda fitting.

* [[Nicolas Cage]] does a rather impressive physical impression of Orlok in the movie ''[[Vampires Kiss|Vampire's Kiss]].''

* The Penguin in ''[[Batman Returns (Film)|Batman Returns]]'', with his yellow skin, pointy and elongated nose, sunken eyes, and balding head.

* Not a vampire, but Voldemort's new body after ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Franchisenovel)/|Harry Potter and Thethe Goblet of Fire|Harry Potter]]'' seems inspired a bit by the look of Orlok, only without a nose.

* Bob in ''The [[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]] Reformed Vampyres' Diary 2003''. Subversion in that, over the course of a series of notes between the Black Ribbon leader and the woman who plays the harmonium, it becomes apparent that he isn't actually a vampire at all.

** Count von Magpyr's grandfather's portrait in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]]''.

* There was a Nosferatu look-alike in an episode of ''[[Are You Afraid of the Dark?]]'' titled "The Tale Of The Midnight Madness".

* The aptly-named Nosferatu clan from ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' and its spin-off TV series, ''[[Kindred: theThe Embraced]]''. Their curse is hideous looks, no matter how pretty they used to be as mortal humans.

* [[The Master (trope)|The Master]] from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. The interesting thing is that the vampires in that world usually look like normal humans most of the time and then put on their vampiric [[Game Face]] when they're about to do some vampire shit. The Master always looks like Orlok, and the other vampires are pretty impressed by it.

** The implication with the Master is that he's so old that he's now in permanent Looks-Like-Orlok-mode.

** The Prince of Lies in ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'' (episode "Why We Fight") is probably the most explicitly based on Orlok, with trademark pointed ears and long fingers. Like other Buffyverse examples, his appearance is credited to age.

* While Sylar from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' certainly doesn't resemble Orlok himself, ''Nosferatu'' was an early inspiration for the character. While most of the original idea was changed, it is held over in his depiction in the prophetic paintings from first season. This is most obvious in Sylar's own rendition of himself posing as Nathan in that season's [[Bad Future]], which featured long, taloned fingers. Also, he stole Orlok's coat.

* Perhaps Uncle Fester of ''[[The Addams Family (TV)|The Addams Family]]'', although he's a much cuter version.

* Mr Gryle the [[Our Banshees Are Louder|banshee]] in the TV adaptation of ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Going Postal (Discworld)|Going Postal]]''.

* The vampires in the video for [[They Might Be Giants (Musicband)|They Might Be Giants]]' "Damn Good Times".

* Many of the Nosferatu in game art took on this appearance in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Masquerade]]'', but it could differ quite a bit from the Orlokian norm, as long as it was hideous.

** The version of the Nosferatu in ''[[Vampire: The Requiem (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Requiem]]'' could take on many forms foul and fair, but regardless of appearance always had an [[Uncanny Valley|unsettling aura]] that made social interaction difficult.

* The Necrarch bloodline in ''[[Warhammer (TabletopFantasy Game)|WarhammerBattle]] Fantasy Battle''.

* The Basic ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' sourcebook ''GAZ3 The Principalities of Glantri'' had the vampire-like nosferatu monsters (inspired by ''Nosferatu''), whose illustration looked like this.

* The D&D third edition [[Ravenloft (Tabletop Game)|Ravenloft]] books introduced the Vrykolakas, a subtype of vampires that look like Orlock. They are specifically described as "night scavengers and plague-carriers" to play up Orlock's plague rat aspects. One key difference is that instead of fangs they have a long, barbed tongue.

* The ''[[Deadlands (Tabletop Game)|Deadlands]]'' TTRPG has the Nosferatu as a subspecies of vampires. They look like Orlok. And ride macabre trains when raiding for victims.

* Some of the races of ''[[Talislanta (Tabletop Game)|Talislanta]]'' look a bit like this, such as the Na-Ku cannibals, Marukans, and Nagra. Even the Kang might fit, if Max Schreck had gotten really ripped at the gym and suffered a bad sunburn.

** In a more direct [[Shout -Out]], Orlok himself is seen in the background of a stage in ''Castlevania Chronicles'', frozen in a block of ice for some reason.

* Igor of the ''[[Persona (Videovideo Gamegame)|Persona]]'' series; although it should be noted that [[Dark Is Not Evil/Video Games|he is an ally character.]]

* Though [[Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|Magus]] is often drawn as a [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] in [[Fan Art]], and his sprite could be mistaken for one, his character portrait is basically Orlok with long, blue-white hair and red eyes.

* Medeus from ''[[Fire Emblem (Video Game)|Fire Emblem]] Shadow Dragon'' fits this despite being a dragon instead of a vampire. He's got the bald head, clawed hands, fangs, and batlike ears. All of these traits make him a dead ringer for the Count.

* Vorcha in ''[[Mass Effect 2 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 2]]''.

* Ordinary Vampires in ''[[Runescape (Video Game)|RunescapeRuneScape]]'' look like this. The more [[Nigh Invulnerable|powerful]] and civilized [[Phantasy Spelling|Vampyres]], however, are more human-looking. (Sans the Vyrewatch, who are [[Our Vampires Are Different|completely different.]])

* The Vampire units of Necropolis city in ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]] 3'' (''HOMM 2'' vampires are [[Classical Movie Vampire|Classical Movie Vampires]]s, and ''HOMM 5'' vampires look like undead nobles in battle garb).

* Dreadlords from ''[[War CraftWarcraft]]'', though they are demons instead of vampires, are a species of Orlok lookalikes.

* Vampires in ''[[Tru TRU-Life Adventures]]'' start out looking like themselves, but grow to resemble Orlok as they lose their humanity.

== Web Original ==

* Zellie T of ''[[ASC Zs Horrorshow (Web Video)|ASC ZsASCZ's Horrorshow]]'' compares [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVtkMmpb38Q this video] of El Chupacabra to Count Orlok.

* [[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|Mr. Burns]] looks like Orlok even when he's ''not'' a vampire. Especially when he wriggles his fingers...

** There's a [[Halloween Episode]] of ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'' in which Mr. Burns is Dracula, and a few of his underlings look very Orlokian. Burns himself is primarily a parody of [[Gary Oldman]]'s portrayal of Dracula in [[Bram StokersStoker's Dracula (Film)|the Coppola movie]], but he does look a little Orlokian, too.

* At the end of the Graveyard Shift episode of ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants (Animation)|SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', the lights start to flicker, and thinking that it's the Hash Slinging Slasher's doing, everyone looks over and is relieved to find that it was only that silly Nosferatu!

* In episode 6 of ''[[Ugly Americans]]'', Blake is a blatant [[Expy]] of Edward from ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'', while Blake's father was obviously modeled after Orlok.