Shadow of the Vampire

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I didn't realize this was a fictional re-telling of the making of the 1922 German horror film Nosferatu, where the myth was that Max Schreck, (who played the title role), was an actual vampire. It wasn't until he started to kill the crew members that I had my suspicion.

Shadow of the Vampire is an intriguing and provocative dramatic thriller that satirizes the silent film classic Nosferatu. The film supposes that Max Schreck was an actual vampire recruited by director F. W. Murnau to play Count Orlok in order to get an authentic performance, but tragedy plagues the set of Nosferatu as a number of the crew fall victim to mysterious attacks. John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, and Cary Elwes deliver strong performances; particularly Dafoe, who does an exceptional job capturing Max Schreck’s original performance. And, it’s really impressive how well the film incorporates and recreates footage from Nosferatu, which serves to enhance the reality of the film. Yet as clever as the concept is, it doesn’t ever feel like the film is living up to its potential; as if the story isn’t taking the concept far enough. But even with its problems, Shadow of the Vampire is a fascinating film.