Popular reviews

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  Review by russman ★★★ 1

  This movie is so meta since Willem Dafoe is a vampire in real life as well.

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  Review by Kat ★★★★ 9

  I bet the makeup artists saved so much money working with Dafoe, since he kinda already looks like a vampire.

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  Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 21

  To any fan of the original Nosferatu and of horrorfilm in general this underrated film is a must see.

  It is a fictionalised retelling of the making of the mother of all vampire films. It has as its premise that Max Schreck, the actor playing the vampire, actually was one himself. As silly as this may sound, thanks to an amalgamation of perfectly executed visuals, superb storytelling and some majestical acting, it works perfectly.

  Director Merhige treats his film, above all, as an ode to the original. He manages to conjure up that feel of the early silent movies really well and he actually uses footage from the original film. To his credit, the scenes he shot feel very authentic…

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  Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★★ 2

  Set during the filming of the pretty much groundbreaking horror film Nosferatu as the line between reality and fiction gets blurred, where FW Murnau is not only a perfectionist but the film becomes his own moby dick and he will go to the extremes to make the perfect vampire movie... even if that means to hire a real vampire.

  While Herzog's version was a really good adaptation, this one is vastly superior in many ways. Not only the BTS approach makes of this a much unique movie, but director E. Elias Merhige actually attempts and mostly succeed on making the shooting scenes as if we are looking at footage from the 20s. The score by Dan Jones also helps building…

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  Review by Travis Lytle ★★★ 2

  Part satire, part dark comedy, part revisionist history, E. Elias Merhige's "Shadow of the Vampire" tells the story of the making of F.W. Murnau's classic "Nosferatu." Actually, the Merhige's film tells a version of the story, and his version imagines that lead actor, Max Schreck, may have been a real-life vampire, or, at least, a really good actor. It is a shadowy and slowly paced film that will engage both fans of Murnau's film and film history.

  With Willem Dafoe as Schreck and John Malkovich as Murnau, "Shadow of the Vampire" paints a portrait of a film set harassed by an extremely committed actor. Biting his costars, eating bats, and refusing to remove his makeup, Dafoe's Schreck is a grotesque…

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  Review by Felipe ★★★½ 1

  Willem Dafoe as Nosferatu in a movie about the making of Nosferatu set in an alternate reality where Max Schreck, the actor from Nosferatu was a real life vampire?! And people don't talk about this?!

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  Review by DNA cinephile🏳️‍🌈 ★★★★½ 4

  Shadow of the Vampire. 2000. Directed by E. Elias Merhige.

  This pseudo-biopic about the making of Nosferatu by F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) by selling his sole to the sinister real vampire Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) is playing on YouTube for free and is well worth your time before Halloween ends. My birthday (1 November) is tomorrow so this review will be brief but explanatory with regard to the supernatural, biopic nature of Shadow of the Vampire (2000). Willem Dafoe owns this and Malkovich rocks Shadow of the Vampire. This was great after a solid vampire marathon on LB. This concept of Murnau making a pact with the devil so he could make the first and best vampire film works very…

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  Review by 📀 Cammmalot 📀 ★★★★ 4

  ”How dare you destroy my photographer?
  ….Why not the script girl?”
  “The script girl?….I’ll eat her later.”

  Here’s the movie that begs the question:
  Can method acting ever go too far?

  Willem Dafoe literally kills it portraying an unknown actor who discovers a role he can really sink his teeth into.

  And if that’s not enough you also get the added bonus of watching him face off with Malkovich in an actor vs director vs vampire bout that's one for the ages.

  ”I will finish my picture.”
  “This is hardly your picture any longer.”

  
  Cinematic Time Capsule - 2000 Ranked

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  Review by 8 b i t m u r d e r b o t ∆ ∆ ★★★★ 2

  Off the fucking rails. There is so much fun to be had with this. The relationship between the Filmmaker and the Vampire here is utterly brilliant. Murnau's obsession is terrifying.

  "The death of centuries. Moon chaser. Blasphemer. Monkey vase of prehistory... finally to Earth, and finally born."

  The weight of cinematic history rest upon a film that presupposes the making of Nosferatu. Fascinating and repelling in it's telling. Dafoe's performance and mannerisms are incredible. There are no words for the pleasure derived from watching him in countless scenes.

  The film has several moments that are soberingly serious and almost take on a different look and feel. There's two different films in here and it discombobulates you. The meta mindset has…

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  Review by Jane Firehorse ★★★★ 2

  Who is more of a monster, the vampire or the director?

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  Review by DallasFrance ★★★★ 2

  Wow! Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich put the camp in Shadow of the Vcampire!

  Dafoe plays Max Schreck playing Nosferatu, so of course he chews scenery like he’s chewing necks.

  But if you think John Malkovich is ever going to just lie down and let someone out-overact him, you’re a couple pints short of a stein filled with blood. He plays legendary director F. W. Murnau as a crazed man who will stop at absolutely nothing to make Nosferatu the perfect film. 

  So while Dafoe’s got the impossibly extended fingernails, horrible teeth, and pallid, sunken face of a corpse, Malkovich’s got the Malkovichly Malkovich Malkoviches, Malkovichy Malkoviches, and Malkovich, Malkovichian face of a Malkovich. 

  He’s tough to beat.

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  Review by julianblair ★★★★ 4

  boxd.it/i6968
  Hooptober Neun - Bloodsuckers 101

  A fictional riff on the actual filming of Nosferatu in 1921. This "what if" story presents us with a scenario where actor Max Schreck was truly a vampire.

  Splendid casting sees John Malkovich as director Murnau and Willem Dafoe as Schreck, with a fine and subdued turn by Udo Kier as the producer. Another plus is the lavish, moody cinematography (mostly night scenes) and art direction (amazing art deco credits). The sepulchral Dafoe steals the show as a testy and feral creature of the undead. Malkovich is right there with him as another type of monster.

  Slappy McGee recommended pairing this with Nosferatu (1922) and it greatly enhanced the pleasure. I took my sixteen-year-old daughter to see this in 2001. Sweet memory.