FILM REVIEW: Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Director: E. Elias Merhige

Starring: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Catherine McCormack, Cary Elwes and Udo Kier

Running Time: 92 minutes

Genre: Meta-fictional horror

Shadow of the Vampire is a fictional take on the making of F.W. Murnau's (John Malkovich) classic 1922 horror film, Nosferatu. The cast and crew are summoned to an old Slovak castle by the actor who will portray Nosferatu, Max Schreck (Oscar nominated Willem Dafoe who is wonderfully creepy), a supposed method actor who will stay in character throughout the film shoot. As the production arrives at the castle, proceedings take a turn for the surreal with Schreck's erratic behaviour seemingly behind some unsavoury events. 

E. Elias Merhige's film has a wonderful atmosphere to it, this uniquely set tale is in essence set up in such a way that echoes of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, of which Nosferatu was based on, but had the name changed due to it being an unauthorized adaption. As Murnau and his crew descend onto foreign territory, the sense of foreboding deepens as Schreck's behavior becomes stranger and as cast and crew members go missing/or are traumatized. A terrific sequence where Schreck tells of his history as a vampire is an acting master class by Dafoe, as Schreck nonchalantly catches and feasts upon a bat at the discussions end. As the full story begins to come to the light on Murnau and Schreck's dealings, a bloody finale ensues that wraps up proceedings neatly that allows the meta-fiction of the narrative to come full circle (the film is completed, but lots of people die).

Merhige has crafted a highly accomplished, atmospheric horror film that is held together primarily by the terrific performances by Willem Dafoe, the ever-reliable Malkovich and a strong cast of supporting characters. While the film has a great atmosphere and Dafoe is genuinely creepy, we never get the full promise of his horrific nature, or the scares to go with being a horror film. Despite this, Shadow of the Vampire is a entertaining peculiarity that rarely comes around, with a focus on atmosphere rather than simple chills and for that it deserves just credit.

72