Review of Shadow of the Vampire (2000) by Mjs M — 09 Oct 2009

The ending where Murnau goes insane filming Orlok is so great that it makes the rest of the film feel suddenly underwhelming. Aside from that gem of a scene where Dafoe eats a bat and Udo Kier just has this blank drunken stare on his face while he watches him do it.

Also, the opium subplot? What the fuck? Was that just thrown in there to be like some kind of excuse? Or were they just trying to be detailed? I didn't care for it, real or not. Malkovich says shit like "a native has wandered into my shot" and "if it's not in frame it doesn't exist" and "they don't have to act, they have to be".

Then his big batshit monologue at the end he channels Herzog and just pulls out all the stops as he films to the point of disintegration of everything and the film just kind of finishes and you're left pondering how far from the truth all of this is and if making a film is really worth the emotional toll and if Willem Dafoe is fooling us all.

..and then you turn it off and go back to your life.