Watch Shadow of the Vampire

Shadow of the Vampire is a 2000 film directed by E. Elias Merhige and starring John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, and Udo Kier. The film is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic horror film Nosferatu, which tells the story of Dracula. The movie opens with the German filmmaker Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (John Malkovich) preparing to shoot his latest project, an adaptation of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film crew and cast, including the lead actor Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), are assembled in a remote location in Czechoslovakia, and Murnau's obsessive attention to detail is making the shoot more and more difficult.

As filming progresses, strange and ominous events begin to occur on set. Max Schreck, who is playing the vampire Count Orlok, starts acting in bizarre ways that cause the crew to become increasingly uneasy. When crew members start to disappear, the cast and crew begin to wonder if there is something sinister going on with Schreck.

It's eventually revealed that Max Schreck is not just an actor, but an actual vampire, who made a deal with Murnau in order to play the lead role. Murnau wants to capture the most realistic vampire performance possible, and Schreck proves to be the perfect subject.

As the shoot continues, Murnau becomes increasingly obsessed with capturing footage of Schreck feeding on the crew members, and tensions rise as it becomes clear that the vampire cannot be controlled. The film culminates in a thrilling and bloody climax that is sure to leave audiences on the edge of their seats.

The performances in Shadow of the Vampire are outstanding, particularly from Willem Dafoe, who gives a chilling and mesmerizing performance as the vampire Schreck. John Malkovich is also excellent as the obsessive and manipulative filmmaker Murnau, and Udo Kier shines as the film's producer.

Visually, the film is stunning, with a gritty and realistic aesthetic that perfectly captures the atmosphere of the early days of cinema. The cinematography is particularly impressive, with the use of shadows and light adding to the film's eerie and unsettling tone.

Overall, Shadow of the Vampire is a fascinating and darkly entertaining film that is sure to appeal to lovers of classic horror films. The movie is both a tribute to, and a subversion of, the original Nosferatu, and is sure to leave audiences with a newfound appreciation for the art of filmmaking.

Shadow of the Vampire is a 2000 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 32 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.9 and a MetaScore of 71.