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As far as premises go, "Shadow of the Vampire" has got to be a contender for an originality award.
In 1922 - before the likes of Bela Lugosi and Hammer horror - a strange German director by the name of FW Murnau created a vampire movie that's often considered the scariest and most realistic ever made. It was called "Nosferatu" and featured a little-known actor called Max Schreck in the lead.
Now, with that in mind, imagine this: "Shadow of the Vampire" assumes that Murnau (Malkovich) hired Shreck (Dafoe) in the knowledge that he was a real vampire.
The result is, well, odd. Shot in near-darkness, "Shadow" is in fact, a satirical comedy, featuring an array of bizarre characters. Dafoe, as has been written about ad nauseam, is terrific, embodying the character to a frightening degree (ironic, considering the nature of the role). Malkovich's Murnau follows his triumph in "Being John Malkovich" with another hilarious performance, chastising Shreck for whining about wanting to eat his leading lady (McCormack) before she has completed his scenes.
It's a one-trick pony, but boy, is that trick a thoroughbred, climaxing with a surreal finale more suitable to an absurdist film season. But for sheer curiosity value, this is worth checking out, if only to watch a performance that may well win 2001's Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Read a review of the DVD.
Read an interview with the director of "Shadow of the Vampire", E Elias Merhige.
Read an interview with "Shadow of the Vampire" star Udo Kier.
