The movie was a bit of a disappointment. After a good start, with interesting characters and great atmosphere, the plot quickly descends into a series of set pieces with no cohesion. The movie has horror elements but it is neither scary or thrilling. Malkovich and Dafoe are the highlights with great acting and charisma on screen but in the end the movie feels hollow and underdeveloped.

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.

A fictional telling of the making F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu", the scariest depiction of a vampire ever made. And that's exactly the problem. Willem Dafoe's portrayal of Count Orlock is too silly. It's a fine performance, but it's hard to get any level of fear out of it. Max Schreck/Count Orlock is too goofy to even be seen as anything but weird by the rest of the cast and it makes Murnau's sacrificial pact with Schreck lack almost all impact. Until Schreck's reflection is not seen in a mirror do we even view him as a threat.

Yes, it's a dark comedy and John Malkovich is really good. There are some cool directorial flourishes, especially the black and white displayed when the crew is actively making "Nosferatu". It was interesting to hear Murnau coaching the actors during filming since it was a silent film after all.

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.

First half is good and intriguing but after a while it turns a little silly or goofy and kind of loses you, although still a decent movie and Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich are both great.