Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

IMDb plot summary: The filming of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) is hampered by the fact that its star Max Schreck is taking the role of a vampire far more seriously than seems humanly possible.

Directed by E. Elias Merhige. Starring John Malkovich, Willem Defoe, and Udo Kier.

Shadow of the Vampire is a horror movie focused on the filming of the real life 1920s horror film Nosferatu, an adaptation of Dracula (without the rights to film Dracula). In this version of the story, actor Max Schreck, who plays Nosferatu, insists on staying in character and makeup at all times, leading some on the crew to believe he is in fact not an actor but a real life vampire. When I started watching this, I knew it was about the filming of Nosferatu, but I thought it was a pretty straightforward biopic. It was a delight to discover that it was in fact a supernatural horror story that painted filmmaker F.W. Murnau as being more than willing to make a pact with a vampire to sacrifice his lead actress in order to get the perfect movie. Despite the absolutely ludicrous premise of this movie, it takes itself so very seriously, but fortunately it's in a way where it becomes delightfully silly rather than irritatingly pretentious. Willem Defoe as Schreck is particularly fun, although John Malkovich's Murnau is also a wonderful caricature of the obsessed artist. This is not the beautifully tragic deep art that it sets itself up as, but it's a ton of fun, especially since I had no idea what i was actually getting into.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Shadow of the Vampire > For Pete's Sake

Shadow of the Vampire < Safe

Shadow of the Vampire > Stargate

Shadow of the Vampire < Waking Ned Devine

Shadow of the Vampire > The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Shadow of the Vampire > Evita

Shadow of the Vampire < Serial Mom

Shadow of the Vampire > Death by Hanging

Shadow of the Vampire > VeggieTales: Rack, Shack & Benny

Shadow of the Vampire > The Descendants

Shadow of the Vampire > Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Shadow of the Vampire > Decision to Leave

Final spot: #1277 out of 3986, or 68%.