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Dafoe, skinny to the bone, delivers a superb performance, remarkable mainly for his physical commitment, but I’d rather spare the superlatives for the portrayal of emotions – sometimes he just overacts a bit. The mystifying theme is brilliantly thought out, unfortunately it’s killed by the clumsy production design. Given its original premise, this film could have been much, MUCH better. (29.12.2004)

A film that will primarily be enjoyed in full and in all of its depth by an expert on Murnau's masterpiece Nosferatu. Steven Katz's screenplay is extraordinarily dedicated and builds the drama of the story on one of the possible interpretations of classic expressionist film – as a metaphor for film vampirism. This is evidenced by several scenes: Greta's words about the camera vacuuming her soul, Orlok's fascinated look at the passing film, his words that Murnau is the same as him, and above all the absolutely captivating ending in which the viewer necessarily asks himself who is the life-sucking monster. Is it the brilliant Daniel Dafoe in the skin of an ancient count, or the demonic John Malkovich in the skin of the man behind the camera? Behind the camera, outside of which things cease to exist and in whose obscure eye survive the images with which it sucked out life. These ideas are skillfully grasped by Merhige and transferred to the film with all the requisite fullness and provocativeness. I consider the middle passage of the film to be a bit worse - it seems confused, unfocused and cycled, and in some places, unfortunately, somewhat empty. However, there is still black humor in the film, which is taken care of by the fact that Murnau's crew considers Orlok to be a fanatical supporter of Stanislavsky's methods. The certain cynicism it generates in every shot of the stage is irresistible. Shadow of the Vampire skillfully blends mystification, exaggerated autobiography (the film says a lot about "Herr Doktor" as a personality, the question is whether it is true… :o)), a visually perfect quotation from Nosferatu and thus a kind of intellectual horror. Despite all the complaints, I remained appalled at the end. This is a great film that drinks a lot from the shadow of the film that it is about. (31.01.2006)

A beautiful tribute to the phenomenon of Nosferatu. It’s ideal as a double program to Murnau's original. Shadow of the Vampire is another declaration of love that only few classic films deserve. Beyond that, the individual filmmakers are beautifully fetishized here, and the actors play them in a outright gourmet way, with John Malkovich (Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau), Willem Dafoe (Max Schreck), Udo Kier (Albin Grau), Aden Gillett (Henrik Galeen), and Catherine McCormack (Greta Schröder) with Eddie Izzard (Gustav von Wangenheim) all giving beautiful performances. There was even room for a debauched nightclub in Berlin's underworld before the crew moved on to exteriors in Czechoslovakia. Beautiful. (05.05.2021)

The slow, boring, and unremarkable pace of the film is literally exhausting. John Malkovich could have saved it, but he disappointed completely. Willem Dafoe delivers one of the weirdest performances in a long time. Udo Kier (vampire specialist) is barely even visible, and my favorite Catherine McCormack (Braveheart) does practically nothing with her potential, drowned under tons of makeup. The screenplay didn't captivate me at all, and the black and white camera didn't seem original. Additionally, there is hardly any music, which doesn't help at all. So, if they wanted to make an original film, they definitely missed the mark. (30.12.2004)

"In the Shadow of the Vampire" is a beautiful ode to old horror and old principles of creating fear. It shows that we have a legacy of great films, and also that horror can be created through atmosphere and scenes, not just blood and monstrously loud music. E. Elias Merhige directed a film that is worth seeing because it contains tension, horror, fascination, and fanaticism. And yet, it is still entertaining. (30.03.2015)