John Malkovich
Willem Dafoe
Catherine McCormack
Eddie Izzard
directed by
E. Elias Merhige
Atmospheric horror film Shadow of the Vampire is proud possessor
of the most original cinematic concept of 2000: what if you were making
a
vampire film, in this case the 1922 silent masterpiece Nosferatu, and your
lead actor was actually a vampire. Director E. Elias Merhige
has
a talented cast, headlined by Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich to help bring
that concept to life, but the final product is a little less than
completely satisfying.
The film takes place in
1922 during the filming of what many consider to be the greatest horror
film
ever made: German director F.W. Murnau's silent Nosferatu, which is nothing
more than Bram Stoker's Dracula with its title and main character's name
changed in order to avoid a lawsuit. Murnau (played by Malkovich) is a
director very driven by his vision, which usually becomes a source of
unpleasantness for his cast and crew, be it his leading man Gustav von
Wangerheim (Eddie Izzard), his producer Albin Grau (Udo Kier) or Greta
Schroeder (Catherine McCormack), his female lead.
But Murnau is hardly the biggest problem facing the cast and crew. That
comes in the form of actor Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe). An obscure German
actor "discovered" by Murnau to play the title character, Schreck is an
odd
fellow who demands that he stays in character (wearing the clothing, the
makeup, sleeping in a coffin, etc.) both on and off camera. All this would
be taken as nothing more than method acting to the extreme, except for one
problem: as the production goes on, cast and crew members start to die,
victims of having their blood sucked from their bodies. More and more, this
is beginning to look like the work of someone who takes his or her job a
little too seriously.
The cast and crew of Shadow of the Vampire do not. True, this
is
a horror film and there is a wonderfully creepy atmosphere evoked by
director E. Elias Merhige and cinematographer Lou Bogue, but Merhige and
screenwriter Steven Katz manage to find some deliciously dark moments of
humour in their story. While the film does have fun with it's concept, it
unfortunately wraps up its story a little too quickly, not allowing the
movie to fully realize its potential (this may have been due to a limited
budget). What is there is a creepy, sly and funny hybrid of moviemaking
satire and old-time horror.
Atmosphere aside, the acting by the two male leads also makes Shadow of the
Vampire worth viewing. While Malkovich does a fine job as Murnau (slightly
over-the-top yet without travelling into Al Pacino territory), it is Dafoe that
really stands out here. With the help of a wonderful makeup job, Dafoe
inhabits the role of Schreck with a terrific balance of sly humour and
genuine creepiness, making for one of the performances of the year.
Kier (hey, it wouldn't be a vampire movie without him), Izzard, McCormack
and Cary Elwes (as the film's replacement cinematographer) all turn in applaudable
supporting performances. A fun, if rather abrupt, Friday night fright flick.