Release Date:
12/29/2000
Rarely do two leading men find roles so perfectly suited to their inherent creepiness, but John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe have hit the motherload. As legendary German filmmaker F.W. Murnau and mysterious character actor Max Schreck, repectively, these two make the darkly funny Shadow of the Vampire worth its weight in blood.
Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Murnaus 1922 silent film Nosferatu (considered the first vampire movie and loosely based on Bram Stokers Dracula, but changed when Stokers estate refused to give Murnau story rights), Shadow plays with the idea that leading man Schreck might have been the real deal: a (un)living vampire. Since nothing is really known about Schreck (even today, his mystery is unsolved; rumor has it that Murnau himself played the role and made up the nameschreck is German for scream.), this movie has fun imagining what exactly happened during the making of this primitive but disturbingly realistic horror movie classic. Malkovich is great as the slightly deranged director, but the movie belongs to the rat-like would-be vampire played by Dafoe. Great supporting turns from Cary Elwes, Udo Kier, Catherine McCormack, and especially Eddie Izzard make Shadow a trippy but totally entertaining ride.
Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Murnaus 1922 silent film Nosferatu (considered the first vampire movie and loosely based on Bram Stokers Dracula, but changed when Stokers estate refused to give Murnau story rights), Shadow plays with the idea that leading man Schreck might have been the real deal: a (un)living vampire. Since nothing is really known about Schreck (even today, his mystery is unsolved; rumor has it that Murnau himself played the role and made up the nameschreck is German for scream.), this movie has fun imagining what exactly happened during the making of this primitive but disturbingly realistic horror movie classic. Malkovich is great as the slightly deranged director, but the movie belongs to the rat-like would-be vampire played by Dafoe. Great supporting turns from Cary Elwes, Udo Kier, Catherine McCormack, and especially Eddie Izzard make Shadow a trippy but totally entertaining ride.