Shadow of the Vampire

Bram Stoker's widow has refused to sell the film rights for Dracula

to F.W. Murnau, so Murnau [John Malkovich] decides to film it anyway, changing the names of

the characters, the title, and the locations. Thus, Dracula becomes

Nosferatu, Transylvania and England become Germany, Count Dracula

becomes Count Orlock, and Mina becomes Ellen. After filming the beginnings

of the movie on a soundstage in Berlin, Murnau is anxious to get cast and

crew to Czechloslovakia where they will be meeting up with Max Schreck [Willem Dafoe],

the vampire hired by Murnau to play an actor playing a vampire.

Murnau introduces Max Schreck as a character actor from the Reinhold

Company and explains that Schreck will remain in character at all times.

Yet no one, not even producer Albin Grau [Udo Kier] knows anything about him. As a

vampire, Schreck is no Dracula. He is old and bald. He can't remember his

humanity; he knows only that his turning had to do with a woman, whose

face has long ago passed from his memory. He has lost most of his powers,

e.g., his strength and his ability to pass through locked doors. He hasn't

seen the light of the sun for centuries. He lives in the filth of an

abandoned abbey, keeping himself alive on the blood of the occasional rat

he can catch. He thinks the saddest part of Dracula, which he read after

Murnau gave him a copy, is when Dracula was forced cook for Harker because

he had no servants. He reads and angsts over Goethe's poem about Tithonus,

a mortal who wished for immortality but forgot to ask for external youth

and is now aged, powerless, and yet must endure...just like himself. He

has agreed to make this film only because Murnau has promised to provide

him with blood during the filming and, at the end of the movie, Murnau has

promised that Schreck can feed on Greta [Catherine McCormack], the actress who is playing Ellen

Harker.

As the filming progresses, Schreck's performance is both inspiring

and creepy, inspiring in how he captures the essence of the vampire and

creepy in his own personality and mannerisms. To add to the creepiness,

the local villagers are extremely anxious about the nosferatu,

particularly after photographer Wolfgang Mueller [Ronan Vibert] is found weak and dazed.

While filming the scene where Jonathan Harker cuts his finger with a bread

knife, Schreck loses control and takes more blood from Wolfgang, forcing

Murnau to threaten Schreck with the admonition that he cannot harm his

people or there will be no Greta. Schreck is able to contain himself,

feeding on the blood of ferrets, rats, and bats and on the occasional

bottle of blood that Murnau supplies, but one thing Schreck refuses to do

is to film at sea. Consequently, Murnau is forced to build a replica of

the ship on dry ground for the sailing scenes. However, the final scenes

of the movie, where Orlock feeds from Ellen and is killed in the morning

sunlight, must be shot on the island of Heligoland, so Murnau agrees to

fly Orlock there. Unfortunately, Wolfgang is too far gone and must be

replaced by another photographer, Fritz Wagner [Cary Elwes].

By now, Murnau's people are beginning to suspect that Schreck is a

real vampire. All the cast and crew members lock their bedroom doors at

night. Albin and Fritz have gone in search of his coffin but found

nothing. Their suspicions are confirmed when one night they come upon

Murnau in a laudanum stupor. While under the influence, Murnau blurts out

that there is no Max Schreck. He found him in a book about despotic

Slovakian rulers reputed to be vampires and then, while Murnau was

scouting out locations in Czechloslovakia, he came upon him living in the

old monastery. When Fritz asks Murnau what he promised Schreck in return

for acting in his movie, Murnau tells the truth: Greta. Albin and Fritz

are appalled but agree to go ahead that night with the filming of the

final scenes.

Murnau has set up the final bedroom scene in an old warehouse that is

light-tight, but he has taken care to install a safeguard...a door to

allow daylight to come streaming into the room at the flick of a switch.

Greta, dressed in a nightgown, is positioned on the bed. Orlock is on the

set, his eyes filled with lust for Greta and following her every move.

Fritz is behind the camera, ready to shoot. Albin is standing by, and

Murnau begins barking out directions.

Just as the camera is about to roll, Greta notices that Schreck casts

no reflection in the mirror next to her bed. She begins to scream, so

Murnau shoots her with laudanum, which knocks her into a compliant stupor.

Schreck is almost beside herself. 'I vant her now,' he hisses, but Murnau

refuses until after he has shot the death scene. When those shots are

completed, Schreck can contain himself no longer and pounces at Greta's

neck. Amazingly, Murnau keeps the film rolling as Schreck drinks and

drinks. After drinking his fill, Schreck falls asleep, as evidenced by his

snores. Murnau, Albin, and Fritz wait.

It is daybreak. Hoping to get a more realistic death scene, Murnau

orders that the door be opened to flood the room with sunlight.

Unbeknown to Murnau, however, Schreck has found the trap and dismantled

it. In releasing the lever, the noise awakens Schreck, who becomes irate

at being tricked. Fritz attempts to fire on him, but Schreck is impervious

to bullets and breaks Fritz's neck. Then he chokes Albin. Meanwhile,

Murnau has taken over the camera. He informs Schreck that this ending is

unworkable and requests that he return to his original mark. Amazingly,

Schreck complies, returning to Greta's neck for another sip of blood. Just

then, the outside crew breaks down the door, allowing the sunlight into

the chamber, and Schreck dies again...this time for real.

After ending the shot, Murnau looks up from the camera and says, 'I

think we have it.' [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]