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Review

Wry and funny fictional account of the making of the classic silent film Nosferatu - the first vampire movie - by the gay filmmaker F.W. Murnau. This vampire movie within a vampire movie would have us believe that Murnau was so intent on realism that he hired an actual blood-sucker to play Count Orloff. The film opens while the crew is shooting early scenes of the film on set before they go to Czechoslovakia to film with the vampire in an old castle. They rush to the next shooting, but not before the cast go to a very gay bar for a drink and a dance with this very gender mixed crowd. British drag performer Eddie Izzard plays the leading man who at times appears to be a leading lady. Murnau rushes ahead of the cast to Europe so that he can ready the "Count" for his scenes - at the train station he stops to admire a boy he deems "too pretty" for his films.

The cast and crew meet the terrifying vampire identified as the actor Max Shreck (Dafoe) whom no one has heard of. His long nails and oddly terrifying visage scare the entire cast. As the filming proceeds, crew and cast members start to disappear at a rapid rate as the vampire needs more and more blood. Murnau (Malkovich) has promised the neck of the leading lady at the film's conclusion - but it will be a major test for them to complete the film as new crew members are being replaced rapidly in this marvelously queer tinged period film.