Hello, and welcome back to the theater!
I have a somewhat more artsy horror film on tap today, ‘Shadow of the Vampire.’ Made in 2000, it was directed by E. Elias Merhige, written by Stephen Katz, and stars John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Catherine McCormack, and Cary Elwes (Strange that this is the second review in as many days I’ve done of a vampire movie featuring Elwes in a supporting role).
For the plot, I’m sure most of you remember early in the month, when I looked at the 1922 silent vampire film ‘Nosferatu.’ Well, ‘Shadow of the Vampire’ is a fictionalized look behind the scenes of that film’s production. It puts forth the idea that Max Schreck (Who played the vampire Count Orlock in ‘Nosferatu,’ and who is here played by Dafoe) actually was a real vampire, and that ‘Nosferatu’’s director F.W. Murnau (Malkovich) was so obsessed with realism in his film that he deliberately hired Schreck to play the vampire, and as payment, agreed to let Schreck feed on the film’s leading actress, Greta Schroeder (McCormack), once production on the film was finished. To try and maintain the illusion, Murnau tells the rest of the cast and crew that Schreck is an eccentric but brilliant character actor so immersed in his role that he would only come out at night, in full makeup and in character as the vampire.
Problems start up quickly as Schreck secretly feeds on and nearly kills the photographer, infuriating Murnau and causing him to have to bring in a new cameraman from Germany named Wagner (Elwes’ character). The other cast and crew, as Murnau hoped, attribute Schreck’s bizarre behavior as being merely the efforts of an incredibly talented actor. It leads up to a climax in which Murnau and the others, while on a rather secluded island to film the final scenes, realize that Schreck’s the one running the show now, and that they must stop him.
There are just a couple problems with ‘Shadow of the Vampire.’ One is at times it can be a little bit dull at first. Once Schreck first comes along, though, things get more interesting. Another problem I had was that Cary Elwes’ attempt at a German accent doesn’t sound very good, you can hear Elwes’ normal British accent coming in through it.
However, there’s also a lot to like about this. The music, though not heard often, sets a good creepy mood. The makeup effects for turning Willem Dafoe into the vampire are amazing, well worth its Oscar nomination. The story conveys, in an obviously exaggerated way, how stressful making a movie can be, especially when dealing with difficult actors (In addition to the obvious problems with Schreck, Greta is shown to be a diva), as well as what can happen when artists become so obsessed with making the perfect pieces that they are willing to do anything for it.
The performances are the real strength of ‘Shadow of the Vampire,’ especially from its two leads. John Malkovich is extremely believable as Murnau, perpetually stressed out and at his wits’ end trying to accommodate Schreck and get everyone else involved in the movie to put everything they have in it. Willem Dafoe is absolutely wonderful as Schreck. He conveys such subtle viciousness and menace in every scene he’s in, just his creepy smile and hissing voice are enough to set people on edge, and you can tell he's using all of his restraint to keep from gorging himself on even more of the cast and crew than those that he's already going after. His body language also fits perfectly with the real Max Schreck’s movement and walking style in the actual movie ‘Nosferatu.’ Two especially good scenes are when Murnau loudly rants at Schreck for having fed on the photographer and all the problems that come from that, and a scene in which Schreck sits down for a drink with the movie’s producer and writer and they begin asking him various questions about what it’s like being a vampire. They’re just doing it for laughs, thinking that it’s just an actor getting even further into character, but it’s clear from Dafoe’s performance and delivery that Schreck is speaking from actual experience.
And so, that’s ‘Shadow of the Vampire.’ Assuming my Internet connection stays strong (It was a bit sporadic this morning), I should have another review up tonight, and after that, I’ll be going into the final theme for this month. See ya!
