1921 Germany--F.W. Murnau hires a real vampire to play Count Knock (Dracula) in his "Nosferatu". Or that's the premise of this movie. An interesting idea--but a really strange execution. The movie looks good and there are very good recreations of scenes from the original "Nosferatu", but the script has real problems. It wavers uncomfortably between satire and surrealism (especially the end which is horrible). However sometimes, it works--more as comedy though. The acting is equally uneven--John Malkovich is terrible as Murnau...he overplays and underplays horribly. How does he keep getting jobs? Willem Dafoe is excellent as the vampire--a VERY good performance. Also there are strong performances in minor roles by Udo Kier (who, ironically, played Dracula back in a 1972 movie), Eddie Izzard (very amusing) and Cary Elwes (buff, handsome and doing a perfect German accent). An OK movie--no great shakes. Good thing it's only 90 minutes.
Review of Shadow of the Vampire
