Shadow of a Vampire (2000)

USA 92m, Colour
Director: E. Elias Merhige; Cast: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack

Shadow of a Vampire is a fictional account of the making of Murnau’s 1922 horror classic Nosferatu which supposes that Max Schreck’s incredibly realistic performance as Count Orlock was facilitated by the fact that Schreck, was in fact, a real vampire. Dafoe’s portrayal of Count Orlock, pretending to be the little-known actor Max Schreck is outstanding, as is the screenplay, directing, make-up, and set designs which perfectly match the impressionistic look and feel of the original film. Shadow of a Vampire is not only an homage to perhaps the most realistic of all vampire films, but is arguably the most original, thoughtful and entertaining films of the vampire genre (Klaus Ming May 2009).