Shadow of the Vampire

A fictional film about the shooting of Nosferatu. 1921. The director F. W. Murnau is making a vampire film. Introducing his lead actor to the crew, he sets strange conditions: the man will work only at night, will meet no one, and will stay in his make-up. The idea is that this actor really is a vampire. Murnau has made an arrangement with him and promised something in return. The narrative moves less like a horror film than a story about cinema. The real question is what the director will sacrifice for his film; people from the crew start disappearing and he does not stop shooting. Willem Dafoe plays the vampire, in a performance counted among the most-cited in its genre and nominated for an Oscar. John Malkovich plays Murnau, with Udo Kier and Cary Elwes in other roles. E. Elias Merhige directed. The production restages scenes from the real film and shows the shooting conditions of the period, the hand-cranked camera and the arrangement of the set in detail. An intelligent production for anyone who likes film history and unconventional horror. For a viewer expecting classical horror, the film is built on black comedy and artistic obsession rather than fright.