Shadow of the Vampire is a (hopefully) fictionalized account of the filming of FW Murnau's Nosferatu. John Malkovich stars as the German director who is filming on sets in Berlin before moving to a spooky castle in the countryside. He tells the crew that, once on location, they will meet Max Shreck, the actor he has hired to play Count Orlok. Shreck is a method actor and will never appear without make up or out of character, they are warned. As if that wasn't creepy enough, the cinematographer seems to be mesmerized by something and Murnau insists that all the crosses be taken down at the local inn, in case Max wants to visit. It isn't long before blood is spilled and the secret of Max Shreck becomes just another problem to work around in the movie business.
First, let me say that Willem Dafoe is pretty great as Shreck. He goes full rodent and it has never looked better. Malkovich has the less showy role of playing the straight man in the middle of this madness. Cary Elwes is the second director of photography brought in after the first one has quite an an encounter with Shreck. The whole thing works as both horror and a comedic take on the film industry. With every creepy thing Shreck does, there is a subtle stab at the movie business. Eddie Izzard and Udo Kier round out the cast nicely.
If you like inside Hollywood style movies or vampire horror, this movie should satisfy you. It isn't terribly scary but there is plenty of horrific acts to go around.
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