Shadow of the Vampire

"An unspeakable horror. A creative genius. Captured for eternity."

2000 1h 35m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

82%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 710🍅82%Rotten Tomatoes●71Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 47,183

DramaHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Director F.W. Murnau makes a Faustian pact with a vampire to get him to star in his 1922 film "Nosferatu."

“An unspeakable horror. A creative genius. Captured for eternity.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

John Malkovich
F. W. Murnau
Willem Dafoe
Max Schreck
Udo Kier
Albin Grau
Cary Elwes
Fritz Arno Wagner
Catherine McCormack
Greta Schröder
Suzy Eddie Izzard
Gustav von Wangenhein
Aden Gillett
Henrik Galeen
Nicholas Elliott
Paul

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: E. Elias Merhige
Writers: Steven Katz, W.D. Hogan, Shino Arihara
Languages: English, German
Countries: Luxembourg, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

26 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Luxembourg, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by E. Elias Merhige, shot by Lou Bogue. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dan Jones. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Wyatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe and Udo Kier carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "An unspeakable horror. A creative genius. Captured for eternity.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

E. Elias Merhige directs. Lou Bogue behind the camera. Dan Jones scores. Chris Wyatt cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Luxembourg, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

126 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
3International production across 3 countries: Luxembourg, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by E. Elias Merhige, shot by Lou Bogue. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Dan Jones. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Chris Wyatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe and Udo Kier carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "An unspeakable horror. A creative genius. Captured for eternity.".
9IMDB entry: tt0189998 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lou Bogue
Original score: Dan Jones
Editing: Chris Wyatt
Production design: Assheton Gorton
Costume design: Caroline de Vivaise
Makeup / hair: Amber Sibley
VFX supervisor: Martin Bullard
Sound: Michael A. Carter
Stunt coordinator: Rick Wiessenhaan
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $8,000,000
Box office: $8,279,017
Return: 103% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 71/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 47,183 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 16 wins & 30 nominations total

Also by

E. Elias Merhige

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-10-12
★ 6/10
Did I kill one of your people, Murnau? I can't remember. F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is filming Nosferatu (1922), but isn't reclusive star Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) taking his role of the vampire way too seriously? In some ways it's a curate's egg of a film. It certainly helps if you are a lover of old classic film and have some knowledge of the source material at the film's core. It's a fabulous concept that the screenplay is based around, that the star of the film may actually be a real vampire, and the whole production is executed with consummate skill (Dafoe was deservedly Oscar nominated as were make-up artists Ann Buchanan & Amber Sibley). But come the end it fizzles out and proves to not have delivered on its devilishly intriguing premise. Fun, though, and tech credits all round keep one well involved. 6/10

Production companies