Shadow Of The Vampire (2000)

3 out of 4

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

Director: E. Elias Merhige

Time: 92 mins

F.W. Murnau's 1922 classic Nosferatu is one of those films that are always mentioned whenever silent movies are discussed. Together with the D.W. Griffith epics, Intolerance and The Birth Of A Nation, and Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, it is one of those landmark works that pioneered motion picture techniques that would inspire many future directors. It is also often lumped with The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari as the supreme examples of the German Expressionist movement, where innovative use of lighting and shadows heightened the tension in the storyline. Though I haven't seen the 1922 original, I have seen the eerily effective (and famous) scene where the shadow of the vampire Count Orlok is seen ascending a staircase. Nosferatu was based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, and starred Max Schreck as the very grotesque-looking vampire. The film was remade in 1979, starring Klaus Kinski and the beautiful Isabelle Adjani, and now there is Shadow Of The Vampire, a film that documents (fictitiously) the making of the Murnau work itself. Normally this might make for mildly interesting subject matter, but the film goes one step further: it postulates that Max Schreck was actually a vampire himself! Shadow of The Vampire is a fine work - not brilliant, but anchored by a great performance from Willem Dafoe as Schreck.

It is 1921, and F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is filming Nosferatu. His crew consists of producer Albin Grau (Udo Kier), screenwriter Henrik Galeen (Aden Gillett), and lead stars Gustav von Wangenheim (Eddie Izzard) and Greta Schroeder (Catherine McCormack), plus a few others in charge of make-up and lighting. The vampire is to be played by Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), an unknown method actor who is supposedly renowned for living and breathing his role, even though no one but Murnau has heard of him. The truth is, Schreck is a vampire, one of the undead. The whole crew travels by train to eastern Europe to shoot the castle scenes, and it is there that Schreck makes his entrance. Soon after, the cinematographer falls ill, and a replacement, Fritz Wagner (Cary Elwes) is recruited to take over the camera duties. Schreck's lust for blood grows stronger day by day, and more crew members disappear. Will Murnau be able to finish his film before Schreck finishes his crew?

Shadow Of The Vampire is a fascinating look at filmmaking in the 1920s, coupled with an ingenious concept. It obviously helps if one has seen Nosferatu before, but even if one has only passing knowledge of that film, Shadow would still be quite enjoyable. There is a rich vein of sly humour that runs throughout the film, and an excellent period flavour. The film slows down somewhat two-thirds of the way through, but then picks up again for a finale that's both darkly funny and horrific at the same time.

Malkovich is very good as the obsessed Murnau, who will go to great lengths to ensure his great vampire film is realistic, even so far as to employ a real bloodsucker! It's Dafoe, however, who is a revelation as Schreck/Orlok. Hardly recognisable underneath all that make up, he makes the creature abhorrent, pitiable, and humorous. Udo Kier, who was in Andy Warhol's sex-and-blood horror films in the 70s, is good as Murnau's right hand man, while Catherine McCormack, who was the ill-fated Murron in Braveheart, looks completely different as an irritable German actress. British actor Elwes (The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Twister) gleefully hams it up in his few scenes late in the film as the replacement cinematographer.

Director Merhiges' only previous film is the little known Begotten (1991). It's been a long time between jobs, but he shows that he's got a good grasp of film history, filmmaking, and atmosphere. Shadow Of The Vampire is not a great film by any means, but if you've heard of Nosferatu, Shadow is a nice little accompaniment that you just might find yourself enjoying.

(c) Joe Wong (27 January 2001)