What of the nude young woman astride the white horse?
Another interesting spin on the "Death and The Maiden" motif, and a fore-shadowing of the final scene of the film.
I did a bit of research on this scene. In Eastern European folklore, horses are thought to be sensitive to the supernatural, and thus, if led around a graveyard, would able to sense the presence of a vampire. If the horse jumped over the grave, there was no vampire. But if it refused - then the grave held an undead. And the vampire hunters would pounce.
The presence of a virgin was said to enhance the effect, as a virgin would recoil from evil. Also, the undead would be attracted to the virgin's purity and innocence, and could thus be lured from its grave and destroyed.
As for the young woman's nudity...this is classic Eggers. He uses quite a bit of nudity in his films (male and female), for artistic effect, and I suspect, also for titillation.
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Date: 2025-04-03 01:02 am (UTC)What of the nude young woman astride the white horse?
Another interesting spin on the "Death and The Maiden" motif, and a fore-shadowing of the final scene of the film.
I did a bit of research on this scene. In Eastern European folklore, horses are thought to be sensitive to the supernatural, and thus, if led around a graveyard, would able to sense the presence of a vampire. If the horse jumped over the grave, there was no vampire. But if it refused - then the grave held an undead. And the vampire hunters would pounce.
The presence of a virgin was said to enhance the effect, as a virgin would recoil from evil. Also, the undead would be attracted to the virgin's purity and innocence, and could thus be lured from its grave and destroyed.
As for the young woman's nudity...this is classic Eggers. He uses quite a bit of nudity in his films (male and female), for artistic effect, and I suspect, also for titillation.