History Main / LooksLikeOrlok

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

History time: In the original folklore, most vampires were short, ugly, Eastern European peasants. Then Polidori creates the character of Lord Ruthven and suddenly they're all elegant, English, aristocratic and [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed look suspiciously like Lord Byron]]. Rymer's ''Varney The Vampire'' gives them fangs, but makes no real change beyond that. Then ''{{Dracula}}'' was written, and they're elegant, ''Eastern European'' aristocrats, [[EvilIsSexy sexy and deadly]], outwardly beautiful yet disguising an inner corruption. Then, Sheridan Le Fanu's ''Carmilla'' was written, and vampires suddenly became angsty, alluring, bi-sexual upper-class gothic girls. Thus, horror turned to fetish, and the world was never the same again.

* ''Shadow of the Vampire'': Willam Dafoe as Max Schreck playing Orlok, but he really looks like that because he really is a vampire.

* The vampires of ''30 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.

* The mutated vampires from ''Daybreakers'' seem to be heading in this direction. Lack of blood in their diet causes them to revert to a feral state indicated by loss of hair, bulbous head, elongated face, pointy ears, and growth of claws. Of course, these are accompanied by several non-Orlok characteristics like loss of higher brain function, and even arms devolving into wings in extreme cases.

* Some of the races of ''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.

* The Vampire creatues in the DungeonKeeper are like this.

** In HOMM3, that is. In HOMM and 5 they become progressively more classical movie vampires in looks.

** Alucard ''is'' Dracula.

[[caption-width-right:166:Anyone who looks like this hideousness]]

* In {{Shadowgirls}}, a very Orlok-looking member of [[NebulousEvilOrganisation EoD]] was sent to eliminate a hospitlized cop.

** Of course, Mr. Burns looks like Orlok [[NightmareFuel even when he's ''not'' a vampire]]...

* The Carnival Geek Canibal version of The Vulture in ''SpiderManNoir'' is based on Orlok.

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

* The Carnival Geek Canibal version of The Vulture in SpiderManNoir is based on Orlok.

!!Examples:

* Vampires in TruLifeAdventures start out looking like themselves, but grow to resemble Orlok as they lose their humanity.

* At the end of the Graveyard Shift episode of SpongebobSquarepants, 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!
* The Baron from rejected Nickelodeon pilot, TheModifyers.

* In episode 6 of UglyAmericans, Blake is a blatant {{Expy}} of Edward from {{Twilight}}, while Blake's father was obviously modeled after Orlok.
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* Vampires in TRU-LifeAdventures start out looking like themselves, but grow to resemble Orlok as they lose their humanity.

** Of course, Mr. Burns LooksLikeOrlok even when he's ''not'' a vampire...

* Of course, Mr. Burns LooksLikeOrlok even when he's ''not'' a vampire...

* Somethinged (not played straight, parodied, subverted or averted...justified maybe??) in ''Shadow of the Vampire'': Willam Dafoe as Max Schreck playing Orlok, but he really looks like that because he really is a vampire.

** No nose? Then how does he smell??
*** [[spoiler:TERRIBLE!!]]

* The Basic ''DungeonsAndDragons'' sourcebook ''[=GAZ3=] The Principalities of Glantri'' had [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the vampire-like nosferatu monsters (inspired by ''Nosferatu''), whose illustration looked like this.]]

** So a rat looks like a vampire who was intended to look like a rat?

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

* The Basic ''DungeonsAndDragons'' sourcebook ''[=GAZ3=] The Principalities of Glantri'' had the vampire-like nosferatu monsters (inspired by ''Nosferatu''), whose illustration looked like this.