Shadow of a Vampire has all the ingredients of a black, black film, but comes off no more than a dark shade of grey. Still, not too shabby for a film whose brilliant acting includes a cast comprising Willem Dafoe, Eddie Lizard, and John Malkovitch.

Willem Dafoe stars as the actor Max Shrek, playing Nosferatu; except he's not an actor he really is a vampire. That is the premise of this film. Its based on the 1921 classic silent movie and works on neally every level. As simple entertainment its thrilling and occasionally quite funny. On a deeper level, like most horror films it plays on our darkest fears and our primal instincts.

The acting from Dafoe and Malkovich is magical, and the supporting cast including Eddie Izzard, are very good.

Why doesn't it merit 5 stars. Well if you remove the long opening credit sequence and the end credits, the film actually comes in at under 80 minutes. It could have been fleshed out a little more (excuse the pun).

Still its a fine film that pays tribute to the original classic, and is classic all of its own.

This movie is thrilling in every way--from the story line, the great actors/actresses, cinematography, etc. Every time I watch it, I seem to catch one little thing I missed before. One recommendation: If possible, you MUST watch "Nosferatu" before you see "Shadow of the Vampire."

Produced by Nicolas Cage, Shadow of the Vampire is a cleverly fictionalized account of the production of the F.W. Murnau classic vampire film Nosferatu (1922) (not to be confused with Werner Herzog's excellent 1979 remake Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht starring Klaus Kinski). During the filming of the 1922 original, the crew became suspicious their lead actor (Max Schreck) was more than what he seemed, which is the basis of Shadow of the Vampire. Set in 1922, and while filming in an old castle in Czechoslovakia, German director F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) becomes impressed with professional method actor Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), who claims to be a centuries-old vampire. To prove himself, Schreck even catches a bat with his hand, bites it, and then sucks the blood from its body, leaving him in ecstasy. Without spoiling the plot, it becomes evident that realism is important to Murnau in making his film, and in his madness he even promises Schreck the main actress/love interest Greta Schröder (Catherine McCormack) as a prize once the movie is complete. This film is frightening, funny, and twisted. In my opinion, there are at least four reasons to see this film:

1. John Malkovich is perfect in the role of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, the eccentric director of Nosferatu.

2. Willem Dafoe is also perfect in the disquieting role of Max Schreck, who plays the vampire Count Orlok/Count Dracula Schreck. (Dafoe was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.)

3. This film will appeal to fans of either Nosferatu or Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht, in that it imagines the movie's lead character was actually a vampire, putting the cast and crew's lives in jeopardy. It will change the way you think of the two earlier films.

4. This film defies genres, escaping the Hollywood cookie-cutter formula in making vampire movies. Think of Dario Argento goofing on F.W. Murnau.

G. Merritt

Willem Dafoe gives an outstanding performance as usual. The rest of the cast also performed well, including Udo Kier, who has come so far from the camp/trash Andy Warhol horror flicks Flesh For Frankenstein / Blood for Dracula 2 DVD Set Criterion PAL. I enjoyed watching him as much as Dafoe! But John Malkovich, plays John Malkovich. His acting here as in most of his movies is worst than Udo Kier in the Warhol films. By no means let this stop you from buying this movie because, not even Malkovich's terrible acting can ruin it. If you haven't seen Nosferatu with Max Schreck Nosferatu (The Ultimate Two-Disc Edition), it's a must that you see it first to appreciate Shadow fully. It's as important to the enjoyment of the film as seeing Plan 9 From Outer Space before watching Ed Wood. Then see Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's 70's remake of Nosferatu Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht for another perfect performance.