Night Shadow

Shadow of the Vampire is a 2000 horror film directed by E. Elias Merhige, written by Steven Katz, and starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. It is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic vampire film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922), directed by F. W. Murnau, during which the film crew begin to have disturbing suspicions about their lead actor, Max Schreck. The film's premise is based on an urban legend which suggests that Schreck was not an actor, but in fact a vampire himself. It borrows several techniques of silent films, including the use of intertitles to explain elided action, and iris lenses. A co-production between BBC Films and Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films, Shadow of the Vampire was shot in Luxembourg. The film received positive reviews from critics and received nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards for Best Makeup and Best Supporting Actor for Dafoe's performance.