Year of Release: 2000
Director: E. Elias Merhige
Starring: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard, Aden Gillett, Nicholas Elliott, Ronan Vibert, Sophie Langevin
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review
"Shadow of the Vampire" was critically well received when it made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival of 2000. The film is the sophomore directorial effort of E. Elias Merhige, who at the time was well known for directing music videos for the rock band Marilyn Manson. The film follows the narrative of the events behind the shooting of F. W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" in the early 1920s. Murnau who wasn't able to secure the rights to adapt Bram Stoker's Dracula, writes a variation of that novel, and alongside his creative team starts shooting the film. He tells his team he has found an obscure actor by the name of Max Schreck to play the role of the vampire, Count Orlok. He forewarns them all that Schreck stays in character all the time, and that he will only appear alongside the crew when in full makeup and also all his scenes will be shot at night. After filming scenes in a studio with his lead actress, Murnau takes the rest of the cast and crew to Czechoslovakia, to a a remote inn where he removes all crucifixes from the space. Certain episodes with the cameraman Wolfgang Muller start happening, but no one takes them very seriously. Schrek finally makes his appearance, impressing and disturbing everyone. As the shooting continues and Wolfgang's health deteriorates, Murnau threatens Schreck since he's aware that the latter is the one responsible for Wolfgang's poor health. A new cameraman is brought in, Fritz Arno Wagner. Murnau in the meantime goes back to Berlin to appease the financiers of the film, while Schreck's lust for blood continues, something that members of the crew assume to be due to his role immersion. Production moves to the island of Heligoland, difficult to access. Murnau admits to the team that Schrek is an actual vampire, and that he made a deal to give him Greta, the lead actress, in exchange for his performance in the film. However, they all realize they're trapped in a remote island with a bloodthirsty vampire.
There's much to savor in this film that is an ode/homage to F.W. Murnau's classic vampire tale, "Nosferatu". E. Elias Merhige and his creative team were able to bring to life the process of shooting that film in the 1920s, while introducing this subversive character of Max Schreck, who for the sake of this feature is an actual vampire. While the film could have easily fallen into the trappings of something solemn or gratuitously violent, the director manages to leverage the script to both celebrate the art of film making (with some of its clichés), peppered with dark humor, something that Willem Dafoe who is portraying Schreck, mines for all the good that it offers. There isn't much in terms of character definition in this film, they're more postcards than portraits, but Max Schreck in particular comes across as someone who is at odds with the modern world, someone who is puzzled by it, and who questions his own sense of immortality. That role both elevates what is taking place in the film, but also renders most of the supporting narrative as somewhat lackluster - F. W. Murnau in particular doesn't get much in terms of illustrating his geniality and uniqueness. This is indeed a film that lives from that great nugget at the core of the narrative: what if Schreck was an actual Nosferatu/Vampire, and was suddenly in the middle of shooting a film in the 1920s. It's a great premise, one that sadly doesn't go very far, but that does manage to keep one's attention courtesy of Willem Dafoe's great central performance. He makes the character menacing, but also quizzical, and at times quite comical. He gets good support from John Malkovich, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard, and of the always wonderful Udo Kier. The production team is solid, particularly Dan Jones' score, Lou Bogue's cinematography, and Assheton Gorton's production design. While it doesn't hit all the right notes, it's still an interesting film worth watching, featuring a great performance from the always fantastic Willem Dafoe.
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