This film is based on one of the first vampire movies, “Nosferatu.” F.W. Murnau was unable to obtain the rights to the book, “Dracula, ” from Bram Stoker’s widow. In 1921 he decided to do the next best thing, his own version of “Dracula.” “Shadow of the Vampire” is a look back on the filming of “Nosferatu, ” but with a catch.
F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is obsessed with portraying the perfect Dracula type movie. He wants it to look realistic as possible, no matter what the cost. He takes his crew to Czechoslovakia, where his star actor is waiting. Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) is this star actor. He is also a real vampire. Murnau promised Schreck the blood of his leading lady (Catherine McCormack) in exchange for a true to life portrayal of the vampire.
The cast and crew on Murnau’s film are confused by the nighttime filming and by Schreck’s transformation as a vampire. He explains that in order to BE the character, Schreck must turn himself into this character. He is never out of make-up or dialogue; this terrifies the cast and crew.
Murnau is soon as out of control as Schreck. He wants such a realistic performance that he is willing to sacrifice his crew to Schreck, with his camera rolling all the while.
This film was written by Steven Katz and directed by E. Elias Merhige. The story was great and the cinematography was superb. It was a look in on the filming of a black and white silent movie, which I saw as very interesting. John Malkovich was excellent as the obsessed filmmaker, but Willem Dafoe stole the show! Dafoe became the character. He showed this vampire to be a little bit sad (not being able to see the sun), creepy (as he lurked around the set) and comical (his comments to Murnau). Dafoe received an Oscar nomination for this role and deservedly so.
“Shadow of the Vampire” was a strange but great film. Having never seen the original “Nosferatu, ” I was intrigued and had to go look up all I could find on it. It is now on my must see list. I would recommend this film to avid movie fans and fans of Dafoe and Malkovich. I would be leery about recommending it to those of you who are squeamish; it does have some bloody scenes.
Enjoy!
©2001 KAC