Shadow of the Vampire

Shadow of the Vampire (2000) poses the question - what if a real vampire played the part of Nosferatu in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 film. Bringing this vampire playing an actor playing a vampire to life is Willem Dafoe, who is quite impressive in the role. In the spirit of the original film, this version of Nosferatu has grotesque makeup, which Dafoe uses to disappear into the role. His long fingernails are always prominently near his chest and seem to lead his body’s momentum, his mouth twitches to display his disgust with the humans he is working with, and he keeps the voicework low and haunting.

In contrast, John Malkovich, who plays the obsessed director Murnau, does a lot of shouting in the movie, pursuing his dream of a perfect horror film and sacrificing his crew and actors in the process. Most of his scenes aren’t very compelling, with one exception - the demanding vampire actor begins to criticize the script and refuses to leave his home to shoot at sea; the exasperated director fights back with logic and reason, attempting to persuade his finicky star to capitulate, but the entire conversation also contains shades of life and death as the undercurrent and Murnau begins to fully realize his tempestuous star is an undead monster he may not be able to control.

Technically, the film is unremarkable, with the exception of the transition between real life on the set and the act of shooting black and white film. The plot has a few holes, most notably why anyone on the crew would continue to work on the film as people keep dying and disappearing. Another contrivance surrounds the film’s climax. The photographer and the producer have found out Murnau’s secret before the night shoot of the final scene; they discuss that the plane fuel tanks are empty, so there is no escape and they must continue filming. Again, instinct tells any rational person to not put themselves in that danger. They all end up dying in the climax, but that is really their own fault.

Overall, this film is a good concept and Dafoe is exquisite as Nosferatu, but the rest of the execution falters with plot holes, some weak acting, and questionable German accents.