Shadow of the Vampire

The movie was a bit of a disappointment. After a good start, with interesting characters and great atmosphere, the plot quickly descends into a series of set pieces with no cohesion. The movie has horror elements but it is neither scary or thrilling. Malkovich and Dafoe are the highlights with great acting and charisma on screen but in the end the movie feels hollow and underdeveloped.

The highlight of “Shadow of the Vampire” is clearly the premise. The idea that the lead actor of the horror classic "Nosferatu," Max Schreck, was actually a real vampire is quite compelling. However, the execution of this fictional making-of is not always successful. I would have liked it to fit in better with the real world, but for example, characters who were alive and kicking in real life are also killed off here. I was also not completely convinced by Willem Dafoe's interpretation of Schreck. He does a good job overall, but for me, he doesn't quite capture the aura that the German radiated in the 1922 film. In contrast, I liked John Malkovich better as the obsessive director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. Ultimately, “Shadow of the Vampire” is a nice companion piece to "Nosferatu," but not much more. Without knowing the classic, this movie is probably not particularly worth your while.