Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Directed by E. Elias Merhige

When Nosferatu premiered in the early 1920s, it changed horror movies, and pop culture, forever. So great was its influence that some eighty years later, the film was still culturally relevant enough for a feature-length film to be made about a fictionalized version of the production of the original film. I’ve been meaning to watch this movie for years, but, because of reasons I’ll get into it a little later, that didn’t happen until recently. Did these years of hype build up Shadow of the Vampire more than it could pay off? Or was it all worth it? Let’s get into it!

Our Story Begins!

In 1921, after being denied the rights to make a film based on Dracula, director F. Murnau wastes no time simply changing the name of the vampire from Dracula to Orlock and continuing to make the film he is certain will be his masterpiece. Part of his master plan involves a very peculiar actor, Max Shreck, who plays Orlock, a “method actor” who will only appear in costume, after dark, and only answer to Orlock so as to better stay in character. Shreck’s antics, and the erratic behavior of Murnau, begin to worry the higher-ups involved with this movie, and this is heightened when crew members begin to mysteriously disappear. The question hangs in the air, “Who really is Shreck, and what horrible bargain has Murnau made?”

Oh My God, That Cast…

Starring John Malkovich as F. Murnau, Willem Dafoe as Max Schreck, Udo Kier as producer Albin Grau, and Carrie Elwes as cinematographer Fritz Wagner, I don’t even need to say how great this cast is. Malkovich is perfect as the scheming mad artist Murnau, Udo Kier is a delight as the put upon producer trying to keep this movie on track, Elwes is as charming a rogue as ever, but who really steals the show is Willem Dafoe who brings down the house as Max Shreck. I could spend the entire rest of this review just talking about Dafoe’s performance, about how it’s a perfect combination of comic absurdity, menace, and profound sadness. His performance is so transcendent that even if everything else in Shadow of the Vampire was awful, I’d still recommend it based on his performance alone. Fortunately, this isn’t the case.

Clever Tonal Shifts To Keep Tugging You Along.

I briefly mentioned earlier that there are comedic elements here, and that’s a big reason why this movie works so well. Everything rides the line between being either a serious story being told by talented filmmakers and actors, or a farce about the trope of movie directors being single-minded abusers who will go to any lengths to perfect their art. It’s not just that it works as either of these things, it’s that both of these different moods support each other so well. When there’s a sequence where reality starts peeking through, a funny joke will come along to remind you that this isn’t a straight horror movie. But the same thing will also happen when things get too wacky, the horror elements quickly reappear so you know that this is a little more sophisticated than a whimsical comedy with Willem Dafoe in an eccentric costume.

This Movie Should Not Be As Fun As It Is.

There’s such an infectious charm to Shadow of the Vampire. It’s so bizarre because no one here is really likable per se, there’s no one to latch onto emotionally, but the performances and great sets and unusual tonal shifts leave you immediately invested. I would really strongly recommend watching Nosferatu, the movie this is based on, before watching this, but I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely necessary. You can probably still follow the Shadow of the Vampire without having seen Nosferatu, but Nosferatu is a great movie and available to watch for free so just watch it. The only real problem is finding this thing! I think the only place you can even rent it online is iTunes, so there must be some rights issues or whatever keeping it off the major streaming services. If you can track down a copy of this, I would strongly recommend it, I love Shadow of the Vampire and if you’re a fan of Willem Dafoe, Vampires, or horror-comedies, I think you’ll get something out of it as well.

Thirst (2009)

Directed by Park Chan-wook

Hey, did you like the gritty Korean revenge film Oldboy? Of course you did! Wasn’t it great? Sure was! That guy made a vampire movie, and it stars the dad from Parasite as the lead! Do I really need to say anything else to convince you that Thirst is a movie worth watching? Probably not, but let’s get into this in case some of you haven’t seen Oldboy or Parasite and had no idea what I was talking about. And if you haven’t, go watch those movies too!

Okay, Back To Thirst!

Grappling with feelings of doubt and depression, a respected Catholic priest, Sang-hyun, volunteers for an experimental vaccine meant to stop a deadly virus, falling ill and seeming to die in the process. But Sang-hyun miraculously recovers, becoming a minor celebrity among Catholics who believe that he possesses a gift for healing. This leads to him being reunited with an old friend, and this old friend’s wife, Tae-ju, to who Sang-hyun is attracted. This situation quickly spirals out of control when Sang-hyun fully becomes a vampire, his lust for blood emerging and intermingling with his newly amped-up lust for sex. As a new love/lust forms between Sang-hyun and Tae-ju, the two descend into a romance that is equal parts gory and sensual.

Shockingly Straightforward, But It Works!

In an interesting juxtaposition to the meta nature of Shadow of the Vampire, Thirst is a classic vampire story that deals with a lot of essential vampire tidbits. There are scenes of Sang-hyun dealing with having to drink blood, being popular because he’s a cool guy vampire, re-establishing his zest for life now that he has all this power. What separates this from the many, many other vampire movies that have similar scenes is the all-around excellent filmmaking and incredible atmosphere. There’s a dreamlike quality to everything here that hammers home the adult fairy tale vibes the movie relies on to make a story that’s pretty universally understandable.

No Problem At All With Characters Over Plot!

The story isn’t particularly deep, but it doesn’t have to be. This isn’t a movie about winding twists and turns in a narrative, but about strong characters with big emotions. Even though there are a few little surprises in the story, I’d say the humanity of the entire cast, for good or ill, is one of the strongest aspects of the film. You see the good, you see the bad, and you see the morally reprehensible, but everyone is recognizably shitty. Everyone feels like a real person, and that’s largely due to the great cast that brings a lot to even the smaller roles.

These Are Honestly Two Great Movies, Watch Both Of Them!

Both Shadow of the Vampire and Thirst are excellent movies, and I would heartily recommend both of them, but I’ll try to point you to the one I think you may enjoy more. If you’re interested in something more meta, more comedic, and with way more Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire is the way to go. Alternatively, if you like sleek, stylish, classic storytelling with plentiful gore and character drama, I’d recommend Thirst. Thirst is significantly easier to find and rent online, so that gets a slight edge, but between the two my personal preference would be for Shadow of the Vampire. You just can’t beat Dafoe when he’s Dafoeing as hard as he can.