Shadow of the Vampire goes against the tide of summer flicks packed with hi-tech wizardry.
But it shows the sheer attraction of a genre that can be traced to the era of the oldest film-making techniques.
The story is about the making of the first vampire movie in cinema history - the 1922 German classic Nosferatu . It cleverly builds on rumours that the protagonist, Count Orlock, is played by a real vampire.
Ambitious German director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) hires Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), whom he finds in Czechoslovakia, to take the main role to bring unprecedented authenticity to his work.
Murnau makes a pact with Schreck, promising him the neck of the leading actress Greta Schroeder (Catherine McCormack) after they finish the last scenes.
Murnau explains Schreck's eccentricity to his crew, saying he is a method actor who wants all scenes shot at night. Schreck proceeds to fascinate as well as horrify the crew. As his bloodlust gets out of control, the crew mysteriously fall ill one after the other.
Director Elias Merhige successfully creates a creepy but funny atmosphere that is highly entertaining.
Dafoe, with remarkable make-up and excellent acting, gives life to the once-terrifying blood-sucking monster in Nosferatu .
He mimicks memorable expressionist images from the old version. These include Schreck's wooden movements with his limbs bent at strange angles and rising straight up from a coffin against a completely dark background.
His weird behaviour and odd lines at times create a comical effect. For instance, he appears to enjoy it when a woman puts some powder on to his forehead. But when Murnau disapproves of it with the intention of getting every bit of authenticity out of him, Schreck looks disappointed.
Schreck says: 'I'd like some makeup.'
Murnau replies: 'Well, you don't get any.'
The film is a post-modern work in the vampire genre. The story seems to believe in the existence of vampires. But it brings out the humanness and mortality of the vampire and paradoxically renders him less scary and powerful.
Shadow of the Vampire opens Tomorrow at Broadway Cinematheque and Cine-Art House.
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