Went to the Red Cross donation station today and had the second pint pulled out. Only one more to go.

It’s not that big a thing other than the endless stream of paperwork and questions, although I am getting tired of getting checked for tracks. Once the needle’s in it only takes about 10 minutes for the harvest. Then 10 minutes hanging around to see if I pass out. That’s easily passed munching on pretzels and drinking some water.

Only thing is I feel stupid for most of the day afterwards. Duh, like that’s never happened before. It’s more pleasant than an algebra test, but the end results are the same.

Went to see Greg afterwards since this is my day off. Got tired of the panhandlers queueing up at the bus stop so I started walking. I don’t know why they insist on thinking that a white boy– especially one dressed like me– has money. Sometimes I wonder if I have “I’m stupid” tattooed on my forehead but just can’t see it, that only smarter people can. Might have over-did (over-done?) the walk but I avoided the steady stream of hard-luck aggravation. Moving targets are harder to hit except for the most obnoxious panhandlers, but then that’s why goddess in her infinite wisdom made pepper spray. Made it about four blocks before the bus finally came along, but had about seven blocks more to get to the hospital when I got off.

Eh, annoying Greg was worth the effort.

He’s doing better. He’s on the second phase of chemo, so he doesn’t have a constant drip in him. He’s dropped weight, but that’s to be expected. He was also cranky as hell, but that’s to be expected from Greg occasionally when he hasn’t been in the hospital getting pumped full of poison for going on two months. I figure, hell, I can’t do a whole lot for him at this point– can’t even bring him a box of Froot Loops since he doesn’t think he can eat them– so if he wants to rave a little, that’s fine.

I didn’t have my hearing aids in anyway.

(hell, if I’d been in the hospital that long and he came to see me I’d be begging for him to bring the Glock next time. I’d be bored out of my gourd…)

But we got to get caught up a little about work & stuff. Don’t know if Kraher or any other legal types have stopped by to see him, but sometimes it’s nice to talk shop even if it raises the blood pressure.

I’ll be stopping by again to aggravate the shit out of him for a visit before my time comes up. Bastard still has more hair than I do.

Lots of running around this weekend, and it really is my last full weekend before surgery. Stocking up on cat litter and food and other feline sundries. Weather’s supposed to be nice so hopefully I can get in some last-minute garden work. Maybe grill depending on what meat’s on sale. Have to make our reservations at City Diner for T’giving, plus there are more caramel latte chocolate bars to track down.

Monday I pick up the names of the kids we’re adopting for the holidays through Project Angel Tree. Yeah, it’s Christian-based, but I’ve been told be several people that it’s not all JesusJesusJesus stuff, that they actually do good things for the kids of prison inmates during the holidays. I decided that we are putting the ghost of Christmas presents in the past once and for all. I can’t see continuing what is basically a commercial practice since we’re not into consumerism per se, and since we’re not Christians or Catholic there’s nothing there for us either. So we told the kids that we’re adopting an Angel Tree kid for each of them, and that if they were thinking of getting us anything not to, but to pick up an Angel Tree kid instead.

(… to be honest, I’ve never been big on Christmas… there was one year my older sister put dog shit in my stocking, then told me the folks got me a puppy, but when it found out it was going to be my present it ran away… the absolute kicker was once when our youngest daughter asked me about the Japanese tradition of celebrating the conception date… we talked about that… she asked about her conception and I told her about a night of wine and weed in the shower… she asked about my conception… my mom always complained that she had to carry me during one of the hottest summers on record, and that I was two weeks late… we counted back nine months and added two weeks… yep, Christmas Eve… the image of my old man drunk in a Santa suit grabbing his crotch mumbling “Ah god yur presen’ righ’ here, Annie” should be enough to disgust any normal human being…)

The adverse impact of adopting some Angel Tree kids is that I have to go shopping for six kids on a limited time budget. Kristen said she’d help if I got too banged up on it. If I get it done, it has to be during next weekend since the weekend of the 4th is already scheduled for other stuff.

Tick… tick… tick… tick… tick… tick… tick… tick…

The best horror movies exploit the unfamiliar. I’m not sure how Spanish audiences first received this “The Orphanage,” but the fact that it’s in another language seems to make it more real. Same with older scary movies. Lon Chaney’s makeup in the “Phantom of the Opera” may look comical in some lights, but there’s always that little voice that asks, ‘wait a minute, what if this guy was for real?’

This theme was explored (to slightly comical effect) in “Shadow of the Vampire,” which imagines the makers of 1929’s “Nosferatu” using an actual vampire in the lead role.

But this is the problem with most contemporary horror movies, they rely on loud noises or unnatural amounts of gore to spook the audience.

“The Orphanage” uses some of these tricks, but throw in a few shadows and ask the audience to fill in the gaps and you’ve something that will keep you awake at night that no amount if viscera could. In one scene, a ghost lies in bed next to the main character. She thinks she’s talking with her husband, but we know from one quick scene whom she’s really speaking to.

On the surface, “The Orphanage” is a standard scary-house movie. Protagonist Laura grew up in a seaside orphanage. Year’s later, she and her husband fix it up with the intention that their new home for disadvantaged children will replicate the happy childhood she has. What could happen?

When the couple’s adopted son and see-er of ghosts, Simon, goes missing, Laura begins to realize that her childhood was not as serene as she once thought.

A mysterious old woman appears at the door one day that piques Laura’s suspicion that something else might be wondering around her home. The woman provides the two of the movie’s good scares: one involving an empty shed in the middle of the night and the other involving a shattered jawbone.

It’s standard fare that if you have a kid in a horror movie, they will invariable color a picture of all the ghosts they see, one of which will always have a creepy bag on their head or be old. It also goes without saying that the bag head character will show up in the next scene to terrify the protagonist.

The film later tells us that the kid wearing the bag was horribly disfigured. What is never explained is why the mask is more unsettling than the face? It’s like the caretakers said to themselves, ‘OK, the kid looks scary as it is, but if we really want to give the other orphans nightmares, let’s draw a clown face on the bag. Kids like clowns right?’

When Simon seems to vanish in a cave near the ocean where the first ghost was encountered, Laura spends the next few months consulting police psychologists and ghost hunters to try to find her missing son. When none of these fails to produce Simon, we get the surefire way to solve any horror movie: the heroine must unravel the mystery alone, in the house, at night.

The film was produced by Guillermo del Toro, himself skilled at building tension on a shoestring budget. It’s good marketing to play up his connection to the film to imply to the audience (wife included) that they’re getting a horror/morality tale in the vein of “Pan’s Labyrinth” or “The Devil’s Backbone.”

When we first saw a trailer for this movie, del Toro’s name flashed on screen and my wife remarked, “he’s such a good director.” I told her he was just a producer and that someone else had shot the movie, at which point she uttered a disappointed, “oh.”

Therefore I was surprised that she brought it home one day. She usually has an aversion to all things horror, but I’m sure the del Toro connection was the deciding factor in giving this movie a try.

The movie was effective enough at building suspense. Despite its sub-two-hour running time, my wife insisted we watch this in two parts, half in the evening and the other half in the comforting morning daylight.

I’m sure the filmmaker intended the movie to be seen under limited light. Scenes that would’ve provided a jolt at 10 p.m. lost their punch at 10 a.m.

A scary movie without darkness is like a romantic comedy without a happy ending.

The year was 1921 and a genius director was sculpting the most horrific movie ever conceived. Little did the director know that he would in fact have to sell every ounce of his humanity to create his infamous masterpiece. So tells the story of the ultra-classic German silent film, “Nosferatu”.

The film Nosferatu to this day is a landmark achievement in cinematic history. Why you might ask is a tiny little silent film so important? Well for one thing it pre-dates Bela Lugosi’s Dracula by ten years. It delivered the first real telling of a “vampire” story on the silver screen and if you have only seen just a little of it you know how much of an impact its star Max Schreck must have left on movie audiences.

In the new film, “Shadow of the Vampire” we are asked why there is such a mystery surrounding this film and what did it take to actually make the film. As the film opens we are introduced to the mad methodical genius of Nosferatu’s director Fredrik W. Murnau (John Malkovich) who has just been heavily disappointed by the rejection of Bram Stoker’s widow to film an adaptation of the novel “Dracula”. He explains to his producer, Albin Grau (Udo Kier), that we will just change some of the key names and deliver our own vampire masterpiece.

As the production begins the film crew departs for a suburban inn tucked into Eastern Europe. Murnau is fluttered with questions as to why they haven’t met the star of the film. Who will play their vampire? Murnau explains that their star is a method actor who has to remain in costume, makeup and will embody the scope of the film’s atmosphere at all times. He continues to explain that their vampire is a perfectionist and that the crew must actually go to him. Unbeknownst to the crew, Murnau has made a deal with a devil to complete his insane but masterful vision. The deal is struck with a local derelict named Max Shreck (Willem Dafoe), who in fact is a real vampire who has an appetite for youthful specimens. As the production absorbs their vampire into their mix, Murnau begins to see what kind of demon he has unleashed on his unsuspecting crew.

Shadow of the Vampire hovers on genius for 90% of the film. If you are a film historian or major buff then this movie will ooze magic for you. I mean you actually feel like you have been transported into their world. As the regular style of film crops and fades into the standard style of silent films we are engulfed into the magic that the mad director was trying to capture. It’s amazing how such a grainy and subtle picture can evict so much passion.

Placing the mood aside you know that the spirit and success of this film has a lot to do with the invigorating performances of Dafoe and Malkovich. You never know that Dafoe is actually Dafoe because of the amazing makeup applied to make him look like he was actually torn from the Nosferatu film.

His performance maybe over the top but it is so brilliantly encased in what we remember of Schreck in the original project. Dafoe does deserve an Oscar for this brilliance. As for Malkovich we really never see the brilliance of the Murnau part until the third act where we begin to see Murnau unravel.

As I watched “Shadow” I was reminded a lot of one of my favorite directors. The director I mean is Tim Burton. What could he have done with this little film. He did such a brilliant job with “Ed Wood” and “Sleepy Hollow” it would have been very interesting to see his magic spin this yarn.

Talking about Tim Burton brings me to my only real problem with this film. The director is a novice and in some circumstances I could see his small amount of experience carry through.

There were some scenes where the director tried to hard to emulate the film, Nosferatu. I mean with actors having those over the top thick German accents, then lacing it with period music and then coupling it with a grainy film sequence you can get a little lost.

I guess for me some of the circumstances didn’t really allow me to use my imagination and because of that I felt a little pushed. What made those grainy poorly cut films of yesteryear so precious was how much they did leave to our imagination.

If you boil down the story of this film you have a vampire playing an actor playing a vampire. Is the director here trying to uncover the mystery or create a new one? Is he trying to make us say, “Hmmm, could Max Shreck have been a vampire?” or is he trying to state, “There is no mystery here. He was a vampire and that’s why he was so weird.” The conflicting mysteries did leave me scratching my head. Does it leave you scratching yours?

To sum this film up. It’s music, lighting, acting, camera cropping and atmosphere is pure genius. But what mystery are we really trying to address?

4 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

The next horror film is sometimes considered a horror film, but not really.

Director F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) yearns to create the most terrifying vampire tale imaginable. Unknown actor Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), cast as the vampire Count Orlock, makes an impressive debut as filming begins, even as he hides an unearthly secret, the secret that he is secretly is a vampire.

Shadow Of The Vampire, is a reimagianing and also look behind the scenes, of the making of the silent film 1922 classic Nosferatu. I usually don’t like these movies where they tell just false stories about something big, but for this film I let that slide and I actually got a good experience from it.

Shadow Of The Vampire contains more humor than I expected, as well as the backstage movie lore, with an underlining but focused horror story. It’s a lot to get into one story, and sometimes the progress the film goes through is a little uneven. At many points, there was a little too many blood and gore for a film of this nature. It turned me away from the film and I didn’t know whether or not to laugh or be frightened by Count Orlock, as I didn’t find him scary nor compelling.

I thought the setting was very eerie, as they were on the island all by themselves making this film, but I didn’t feel much tension throughout many of the scenes. This lack of tension also made the last 20 minutes of this film seem very predictable and just a bit tedious.

I liked the way the film was directed however. I felt like many of the scenes actually did mean something and they weren’t just put in to add a scene, and show how it ended up in Nosferatu. The scenes where you get to see how the scenes are filmed, by Malkovich were very funny and also very amusing.

Willem Dafoe is what really makes this film for what it is, he looks, acts, and just feels like Max Schrek. After this film, I actually looked at some old shots from Nosferatu and I was really astonished by how much Dafoe basically embodied the life and soul of Schrek, but also not forgetting to be creepy. Also, Joh Malkovich is dry, self-centered, and overall in mannered as the director, and really does capture a director that does start to obsess with getting his work done and out there.

Consensus: Though it has some rough editing, Shadow Of The Vampire is funny, creepy, and overall a good look at the filming of Nosferatu, with an incredible performance from Dafoe.

7.5/10=Rentall!!!

Udo Kier

 

 

Udo Kier (born Udo Kierspe on October 14, 1944) is a German actor, known primarily for his work in horror and exploitation movies.

Udo Kier began his acting career as a protégé of film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. He has starred in many vampire movies, such as Blood for Dracula, produced by Andy Warhol and directed by Paul Morrissey (1974), Blade (1998), Modern Vampire and Shadow of the Vampire (2000), both as vampire and human. He has also been in all of Lars von Trier’s movies since 1987’s Epidemic (with the exceptions of The Idiots and Antichrist), and is the godfather of von Trier’s daughter Agnes.

Well known mainstream film appearances were in the Pamela Anderson movie, Barb Wire, and as an extremely cynical NASA flight surgeon in Armageddon, who finds himself subjected to the rambunctious behavior of the flight crew he’s supposed to psychoanalyze. He has also frequently worked with director Christoph Schlingensief.

Kier also made an appearance in Madonna’s 1992 coffee table book, Sex, as well as the video for her disco hit Deeper and Deeper from the album “Erotica.” Kier appeared in Korn’s music video Make Me Bad alongside Brigitte Nielsen, as a military “scientist” conducting bizarre experiments on his “patients” (the band members). He is described in the “making of” of this video as having “fucked-up eyes but he’s funny as shit”, by Korn’s frontman Jonathan Davis. He also appears in the music video of “Die Schöne Und Das Biest” by defunct German band Rauhfaser.

He also starred as Yuri in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and its expansion, Yuri’s Revenge.

Amazon Specials!

J’ai été fascinée par les vampires pendant toute mon adolescence. Je ne pensais jamais révéler ça au grand jour, mais je suis une ex-gothique. Ado, j’ai passé des heures à me documenter sur celui qui a inspiré Dracula de Bram Stocker, Vlad Basarab (connu par ses surnoms roumains Ţepeş = l’Empaleur ou Drăculea = Dragonneau, qui lui venait du surnom de son père, Vlad Dracul, membre de l’ordre des Dragons). J’ai même eu des posters de lui dans ma chambre! (je n’arrive pas à y croire maintenant!!). J’ai fait mon cégep en cinéma et mon film de fin d’année était évidemment une histoire de vampires… Vraiment poche d’ailleurs!
Lorsque j’habitais en Angleterre, je suis même allée visitée Whitby, une petite ville du nord de l’Angleterre qui aurait inspiré Bram Stoker pour son roman. J’y ai, entre autres, visité le cimetière sur une colline et c’était drôle parce qu’il y avait des pancartes à l’entrée de la petite église pour dire que Dracula était un personnage de fiction et qu’il n’y avait donc jamais réellement mis les pieds. (Je dois retrouver les photos de cet endroit, c’était magnifique)

Enfin, tout ça pour dire que j’ai du mal à comprendre la folie entourant la sortie de New Moon, le nouveau film tiré de la série de romans Twilight de l’auteure américaine Stephenie Meyer.

Suis-je la seule à ne pas avoir été conquise par ce “Roméo et Juliette” du monde fantastique? Je dois avouer ne pas avoir lu les romans, mais le premier film m’a laissé un peu indifférente…

Je préfère cette parodie du trailer:

Kevin Pereira et Olivia Munn, les animateurs de Attack of the Show! (G4TV), m’ont fait rire récemment avec ce clip.

****

Enfin, si vous aimez les histoires de vampires, voici des films à voir:
Nosferatu de F.W. Murnau (1922)
film complet ici: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcyzubFvBsA

J’ai adoré Dracula, le roman de Bram Stoker, et l’adaptation cinématographique de Francis Ford Coppola avec l’excellent Gary Oldman (et Keanu Reeves et Winona Ryder).

Lorsque j’étais ado, l’auteur qui remportait du succès avec ses romans de vampires était Anne Rice. Je n’avais pas détesté Interview With the Vampire avec Brad Pitt, même si je n’ai jamais compris le choix de Tom Cruise.

J’ai réécouté plusieurs fois The Lost Boys avec Kiefer Sutherland,
Corey Feldman, Corey Haim et Jason Patric. Ça fait d’ailleurs longtemps que je l’ai vu, je devrais le louer!

From Dusk Till Dawn réalisé par Robert Rodriguez et co-écrit par Quentin Tarantino est un classique.

Malheureusement, 30 Days of Night de Sam Raimi avec Josh Hartnett, l’adaptation du graphic novel de Steve Niles, n’a pas été à la hauteur de nos attentes…

Blade (basé sur le comics Marvel du même nom) avec Wesley Snipes en chasseur de vampires a remporté plus de succès (merci @plusvee de me le rappeler, j’avais presque oublié lorsque j’ai retranscrit ma liste)

Il y en a des tonnes de films de vampires, mais je termine avec Shadow of the Vampire parce que John Malkovich est un de mes acteurs préférés et que c’était un traitement original du classique.

****

Il y a également eu plusieurs films et séries animées japonais sur les vampires dont:

Vampire Hunter D de Hideyuki Kikuchi (1985)

ou

Blood: The Last Vampire de Hiroyuki Kitabuko (2000)
Ils ont d’ailleurs sorti une adaptation cet été http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnIPDFnwnlY (je ne l’ai pas vu encore)

****

Enfin, est-ce que quelqu’un peut m’expliquer l’engouement et la “fascination” pour Twilight?

Filmography:

• · Rage:
  Release Date: 2009
  Released by: Babelgum (Online/Mobile) Cinetic Rights Management
• · Valkyrie:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: December 25, 2008 (USA)
  Released by: MGM United Artists
• · The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian:
  MPAA Rating: PG
  Release Date: May 16, 2008 (USA)
  Released by: Buena Vista Walt Disney Studios
• · Igor:
  MPAA Rating: PG
  Release Date: September 19, 2008 (USA)
  Released by: MGM
• · Across the Universe:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: September 28, 2007 (USA)
  Released by: Revolution Studios Sony Pictures Entertainment
• · Ocean’s Thirteen:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: June 08, 2007 (USA)
  Released by: Warner Brothers
• · The Wild:
  MPAA Rating: G
  Release Date: April 14, 2006 (USA)
  Released by: Buena Vista Pictures Walt Disney Pictures
• · My Super Ex-Girlfriend:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: July 21, 2006 (USA)
  Released by: 20th Century Fox Regency Enterprises
• · Romance & Cigarettes:
  MPAA Rating: R
  Release Date: September 07, 2007 (USA
  Released by: Humperdink Productions United Artists
• · The Aristocrats:
  MPAA Rating: NR
  Release Date: July 29, 2005 (USA
  Released by: THINKFilm
• · Ocean’s Twelve:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: December 10, 2004 (USA)
  Released by: Warner Brothers
• · 5 Children & It:
  Released by: Pathe
  Director: John Stephenson
• · Revengers Tragedy:
  Director: Alex Cox
• · The Cat’s Meow:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: April 12, 2002 (USA
  Released by: Lions Gate Films
• · All The Queen’s Men:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: October 25, 2002 (USA
  Released by: Atlantic Streamline Strand Releasing
• · Eddie Izzard: Circle:
  Director: Frank Garritano
• · Shadow of the Vampire:
  MPAA Rating: R
  Release Date: December 29, 2000 (USA
  Released by: Lions Gate Films
• · The Criminal:
  MPAA Rating: R
  Release Date: 2004
  Released by: Downtown Pictures
• · Circus:
  MPAA Rating: R
  Release Date: May 05, 2000 (UK)
  Released by: Columbia TriStar Sony Pictures Entertainment
• · Mystery Men:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Release Date: August 06, 1999 (USA)
  Released by: Universal
• · Dress to Kill:
  Director: Lawrence Jordan
• · The Avengers:
  MPAA Rating: PG13
  Released by: Warner Brothers
• · Velvet Goldmine:
  MPAA Rating: R
  Release Date: November 06, 1998 (USA)
  Released by: Miramax
• · Glorious:
  Director: Peter Richardson
• · The Secret Agent:
  MPAA Rating: R

Ryu Murakami can’t be stopped. He might as well live up to Stephen King because after the adaptation of several novels (Audition, 69,  Love & Pop and many more), In the Miso Soup is next. The adaptation of the 1997 thriller novel, known for it’s original perspective on Japanese culture, can count on star Willem Dafoe.

Willem Dafoe (Spiderman, American Psycho, The Boondock Saints, Platoon, The Last Temptation of Christ, Shadow of the Vampire) will play the ominous Frank. The rest of the cast is unknown at this moment, but this is likely because most of the cast will be Japanese since Frank is the only western character in the novel.

The German director Wim Wenders (Don’t Come Knocking, Paris, Texas) will handle the screenplay and they will shoot in Tokyo to follow the novel’s setting. It’s not his first time to visit Japan. He already managed to capture Japan in his documentary Tokyo-Ga and his road picture Until the End of the World.

The story follows Kenji, a twenty year old Japanese guide who navigates foreigners around the sex clubs and hostess bars of Tokyo. His latest client, an American named Frank, is so odd that Kenji begins to suspect he has murderous desires. Kenji unwillingly descends with Frank into an inferno of evil, from which only his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Jun, can possibly save him.

In the Miso Soup is one of my all time favourite novels. Let’s look forward to this movie. I’m sure Willem Dafoe can portray an excellent Frank.

I’ll admit that there is little else more perverse than a vampire swoon. Sure the people that are into feet or furries or flanges are freaking weird, no doubt. But I think it is pretty difficult to beat lust for a dead person that will always want to “hit that” and by “that” I mean your tasty, tasty arteries.

But I can’t help myself. According to askmen.com, they’re the ultimate bad boys, raging against the machine from Dusk til Dawn. I tend to dig upon them, because they are intriguingly duplicitous. They are the only guys on the planet to figure out the masculine edge to lacey Victorian cravats. They uphold the virtues of chivalry, but will also acknowledge their special lady friends as intelligent and independent women. They are loners that crave togetherness. They are “death dealers” that feed on life. They are always incredibly strong, but incredibly sensitive. Mmm mmm mmm.

So where’s the “suck” in this edition of That Sucks Thursday? I’ll tell you what sucks (other than the immense desire I have to use an extremely predictable pun). These guys:

Belly shirts? Really?

Junkie1’s top 5 non-lustworthy, only in my nightmares “icky vampires”…read on if you dare!

1. Willem Dafoe as Max Schrek, Shadow of the Vampire
Now there’s a set of bedroom eyes, that’ll send you cryin for your mommy.

2. Danny Huston as Marlow, 30 Days of Night
Great, I just poo’d myself.

3. Al Lewis as Grandpa, The Munsters
One part pedophile gaze to two parts creepy old man smell

4. Tony Curran as Marcus Corvinus, Underworld Evolution
With that nose, he’s the buff Michael Jackson of the Vampire community. Baby, the way you make me feel–it DOESN’T turn me on.

5. Richard Roxburgh as Count Vladislaus Dracula, Van Helsing
Ricky, Kristen Stewart called. She wants that messy up-do back.

Honorable mention:

Gary Oldman as Dracula, Dracula
Sugar, you had me at hello…

… and then you lost me

…and then you scared the shit out of me

Spiegelbilder.

Was macht die meisten Geschichten, in denen Kinder die Hauptfiguren sind, für Erwachsene eigentlich so unerträglich? – Wer sich diese Frage im Geheimen schon oft gestellt, aber nie so recht eine zufriedenstellende Antwort gefunden hat, sollte vielleicht einmal einen Blick auf John Ajvide Lindqvists unbehaglichen Beitrag zum Blutsaugergenre über unterdrückte Aggressionen und soziale Kälte werfen – und das selbst dann, wenn einem Vampirfilme im Allgemeinen eher wie ein untotes Ärgernis erscheinen. Wo anderorts in Fiktion und Realität nämlich über dem ausgestoßenen, von den Eltern unverstandenen und von stärkeren Mitschülern permanent erniedrigten Zwölfjährigen in aller Regel eine Menge pädagogischer Sondermüll abgeladen wird, der ihn lehren will, die Faust in der Tasche zu machen und abzuwarten, bis sich das Blatt wendet, macht die Geschichte um den von gewaltigen Rachefantasien geplagten Jungen aus der Vorstadt ihrer Hauptfigur das größte Geschenk überhaupt: Sie stellt ihr eine ebenso gequälte Seele an die Seite, die ihr sagt, „Werde ein bisschen wie ich“. Und das heißt: Lass Blut fließen, wenn es sein muss. – Für ein Kinderfilmfestival also gänzlich ungeeignet, für erwachsene Zuschauer aber eine willkommene Gelegenheit, sich an die eigenen Demütigungen des Heranwachsens zu erinnern und festzustellen, dass es da Momente gab, in denen man sich nichts sehnlicher gewünscht hätte, als eine derartige Empfehlung zu bekommen. Insofern ist „So finster die Nacht“ vor allem eine arg verspätete Erfüllung dunkelster Kindheitsträume. Aber auch da gilt eben: Besser spät als nie.

Erstaunlicherweise gehören die nächsten Verwandten der Fledermäuse zu den langlebigsten Kopfgeburten populärer Legendenbildung. Die Figur des Blutsaugers mit Hang zur schicken Blässe scheint einer unerschöpflichen Variationsvielfalt eben schlicht die geeignete Projektionsfläche zu liefern. In regelmäßigen Abständen machen sich neue Formen des Vampirismus breit und loten unverzagt alles aus, was die Popkultur so hergibt. Wer dabei immer noch in erster Linie Christopher Lee und Max Schreck im Kopf hat, dem ist das Genre so fremd wie dem Vampir ein Sonnenbad am Strand. Hat sich eine Interpretation überholt, erhebt sich gleich auch schon die nächste aus dem Sarg. Während Anne Rice etwa dem blasiertesten Vertreter seiner Rasse mittlerweile den literarischen Holzpflock in die schmale Brust gerammt hat, feiert Stephenie Meyer mit ihren Unsterblichkeitsromanzen für verträumte Teenagerinnen derzeit Triumphe am Rande der Massenhysterie.

Hinzu kommt, dass die Blutsauger sich so ziemlich jedem Genre-Umfeld anpassen, in das sie hineingestellt werden. Weit entfernt davon, lediglich wohligen Grusel zu verbreiten, funktionieren sie ebenso gut als schmachtende Liebhaber („Twilight“), schusswaffensichere Actionhelden („Underworld“), verfluchte Apostel („Dracula 2000“), verfluchte Prinzen („Blacula“), adlige Lesben („Las Vampiras“), melancholische Privatdetektive („Moonlight“), sühnende Privatdetektive („Angel“), gestresste Großstädter („Love at first Bite“), vereinsamte Großstädter („The Wisdom of Crocodiles“), Schauspieler („Shadow of the Vampire“), Rockstars („Queen of the Damned“), schauspielernde Rockstars („The Hunger“), farbige Stripperinnen („Vamp“), Latino-Stripperinnen („From Dusk till Dawn“), Cops („Nick Knight“), Aliens („Lifeforce“), Enten („Count Duckula“) und komplette Vollidioten („Dracula: Dead and loving it“). Die Liste ist beliebig erweiterbar.

Der Vielzahl der Blutsaugerfiktionen ist dabei bemerkenswerter Weise ein durchgängiger Verzicht auf Einbindung in realitätsnahe soziale Kontexte gemeinsam. Vampirismus und Realismus halten sich in den allermeisten Fällen gänzlich voneinander fern. Stilisierung, Klischeeisierung, Überhöhung oder Ironisierung treiben der Fiktion stattdessen alle größere Ernsthaftigkeit aus und ignorieren so den Blick auf jegliche innere Dramatik, die das Motiv potentiell in sich trägt. Nur selten einmal findet sich eine vergleichsweise nüchterne Annäherung an den Stoff, und umso mehr muss aus dem Rahmen fallen, was etwa Poh Chi-Leong im Fall von „The Wisdom of Crocodiles“ herauszuarbeiten versucht hat (zudem ein wichtiges Dokument dafür, dass Jude Law mal ein vielversprechendes Talent war). Von allen Genre-Beiträgen mag dieser der Verfilmung des schwedischen Bestsellers „Låt den rätte komma in / Let the right one in“ deshalb auch am nächsten stehen, doch der vielfache Festivalgewinner unter zurückhaltender Regie von Tomas Alfredson geht noch einen ganzen Schritt weiter.

Eingebettet in ein Klima von drohender Armut und emotionaler Leere entfaltet sich die seltsame Geschichte des zwölfjährigen Oskars und seiner aufkeimenden Freundschaft zu dem gleichaltrigen Mädchen, das eines Tages neben ihm einzieht und auch im Winter immer barfuss geht. Eli hat keine Freunde, und der ältere Mann, mit dem sie zusammenwohnt, und der nachts Teenager kopfüber an Bäumen aufhängt, um sie ausbluten zu lassen, ist in Wahrheit auch nicht ihr Vater. Wie nebenbei und ganz natürlich fügt sich der Vampirismus des Mädchens in die erdrückende soziale Realität der Geschichte ein, und die Tragik einer Zwölfjährigen, die weder jemals zur Frau werden noch unter Gleichaltrigen leben kann, findet ihren Spiegel in Oskars emotionaler Verwahrlosung. Der Junge, der auf beiden Seiten seines getrennt lebenden Elternhauses nur eine Nebenrolle spielt und den körperlich überlegenen Kindern seiner Schule als Spielball für brutale Demütigungen dient, wird ihr einziger Freund.

Lindqvist hat seinen eigenen Roman für die Filmfassung adaptiert und das komplexe Personen- und Schicksalsgeflecht auf die beiden Hauptfiguren heruntergebrochen. Einiges hat es in die fertige Fassung trotzdem nicht geschafft, und einen Epilog hält der Autor gar noch für eine spätere Veröffentlichung des Films bereit. Bis dahin aber wirkt Alfredsons Fassung so perfekt wie sie nur sein kann. Von der ersten Einstellung, die Oskars gespenstisch transparente Spiegelung in der Doppelverglasung seines Kinderzimmerfensters zeigt (ein Bild, das es von Eli naturgemäß eigentlich nie zu sehen geben sollte – irrtümlicherweise), das Messer in der Hand, mit dem er in seiner Vorstellung alle Peiniger wie Schweine abschlachtet, über den schauerlichen Effekt, der zeigt, was mit einem Vampirmädchen passiert, wenn man ihm eine Einladung in die eigene Wohnung versagt, bis hin zum haarsträubend sprachlos machenden Finale, das so beiläufig und konsequent daherkommt wie die Sonne, die am Ende des Winters allen Schnee wegschmelzen lässt, der die Stockholmer Vorstadt dieser Geschichte fest im Griff hat, hebt sich „So finster die Nacht“ so gründlich von allem ab, was der Vampirfilm sonst hergibt, dass einem jetzt schon angst und bange werden kann vor dem geplanten US-Remake (unter der Regie von Matt Reeves).

Dabei bietet die Romanvorlage ausreichend Material für eine echte Alternativfassung, und man kann nur hoffen, dass sich die beiden Filme langfristig bestenfalls ergänzen und nicht etwa ausschließen werden. Tomas Alfredson jedenfalls hat seiner Version große Eindringlichkeit trotz zurückgenommener Mittel verliehen und eine Form der Beklemmung über den Film gelegt, die vor allem von einem durchgängigen Verzicht auf Verfremdung oder Stilisierung jeglicher Art herrührt. Ganz besonders aber sticht hervor, wie ernst Regie und Autor ihre Figuren und die existenzielle Tragik nehmen, die sie mitbringen. Es mag eine Weile dauern, sich in den Protagonisten (und ihren Darstellern) zurechtzufinden, jedoch liegt das vor allem an der Prädisposition des Zuschauers selbst und seinem kulturellen Gedächtnis, das Kinderkonflikte fast ausnahmslos in kindgerechten Geschichten verortet. Lindqvists Blutsaugerfantasie aber ist genau dies nicht, sondern stattdessen ein sehr erwachsener Blick auf die existenziellsten Konflikte Heranwachsender, ihre dunklen Wünsche und Träume jenseits aller Moral und gesellschaftlichen Tauglichkeit – und damit eine echte Ausnahmeerscheinung.

Artikel © 2008 Thomas Lenz. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Filmplakat: MFA+ Filmdistribution e.K.

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Neulich habe ich “Shadow of the Vampire” (USA, 2000) gesehen. Kurze Zusammenfassung des Witzes der Geschichte: Dieser Film soll die “wahre” Geschichte der Filmproduktion des Filmes “Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens” von F. Murnau darstellen. In dem Film ist der Schauspieler Max Schreck tatsächlich der echte Nosferatu. Kleiner Schönheitsfehler des Filmes ist, das die Biografien der echten Schauspieler nicht mit denen im Film übereinstimmen.

Der Film ist kein Klassiker wie sein Bezugsfilm Nosferatu. Er lebt von der interessanten Idee, des “was wäre wenn…”. Die Schauspieler spielen alle recht gut – und die andere Seite, die man so vom Grafen Orlok bekommt gibt dem Film schon eine interessante Note.

Mir fällt auch kein vergleichbarer Film ein. Insofern ist er schon sehenswert. Es gibt aber einige Szene, die den Filmgenuss einschränken.  Der Regisseur “Edmund Elias Merhige” sagte mir nichts. Mit Jahrgang 1964 ist er auch noch relativ jung. Interessant wäre vielleicht mal zu sehen wie die Filme, die er danach gemacht hat. Ich habe gelesen das der Film “Begotten” (1991) ein Kultfilm sein soll.

Also um die Frage zu beantworten, ob der Film sehenswert ist oder nicht: Ja, mit Einschränkungen. Für kritische Cineasten ist er nichts – aber für Leute, die z.B. Nosferatu kennen bzw. sehen wollen und sich für einen Film interessieren, der sich darum spinnt sicher ein MUST – in Bezug auf das eigene Urteil, was man sich bilden kann und auch in sofern, das er auf jeden Fall ein neues Licht auf ein älteres Werk wirft, auch wenn man dem Film vorwerfen kann, das er  dem Bezugswerk nicht nahekommen kann. Aber dies vielleicht auch, weil “Nosferatu” bereits eine Aura der Unnahbarkeit hat. Ich persönlich mag überwiegend Willem Dafoes Darstellung des Max Schrecks mit einigen Ausnahmen. Da mag es sein, das manche Szene eher lächerlich wirkt, weil der Regisseur nicht aufgepasst hat. Detauls entnehmt bitte den Links auf dieser Seite. In meinem Blog werde ich nicht eine komplette Handlung beschreiben. Mein Ziel ist es nur meine Erfahrung mit Filmen ganz bescheiden zu teilen. Und ich freue mich auch über kontroverse Kommentare. Wenn ich dem Film eine Schulnote geben sollte, so bekäme er eine 4+.

IMDB-Link

Happy Halloween All!  Yay it is that wonderful time of year again.  I love Halloween for a number of reasons but here are a few of my favorite.

• Excuse to dress up in costumes and you have no fear of being judged for doing such.
• Eating lots of candy (something I have thus far failed to achieve).
• Watching lots of good horror movies.

I choose to focus on the last point here.  I am a pretty big horror movie fan and so have taken the time to watch several so far this week (and intend to watch some more tonight).  The movies I have watched so far this week are as follows.

On Monday night Mad and I watched “The Messengers” which was a somewhat creepy movie.  I think it came out about a year or so ago.  Not bad, had some genuinely scary moments, but not all around the best horror movie I have ever seen.  I’ll give it credit for not being altogether overly cheesy (which is a major flaw in a vast number of horror movies) but it still didn’t quite hit the nail on the head for me.  I’d give it a general grade of B.

Tuesday night I watched “Night of the Living Dead,” the original one from 1968, not the 1990 remake.  What can I say, I could write a whole huge post on this movie alone and how it is absolutely fantastic.  If you know me or have read several of my posts you probably have a pretty good idea by now that I am a pretty big zombie fan.  Well “Night of the Living Dead” is really where our modern interpretation of zombies come from.  This is the first George A. Romero (who to some, myself included, is a living legend) zombie movie and probably his best, though his original “Dawn of the Dead” is really very good too.  By today’s standards “Night of the Living Dead” probably would not strike very many people as an extremely scary movie (except maybe the scene when the little girl zombie kills her mum, that part always freaks me out).  But even without getting people absolutely horrified it is still an amazingly well done film that transcends its genre to become a successful social commentary.  Essentially it is a story of “us vs. them” but the dynamic is not just us the “living” vs them the “dead” but also based on race and class and demand for available resources.  Not only did “Night of the Living Dead” introduce us to the modern perception of zombies (even though in the movie they are never called zombies, they are referred to as ghouls) but it also made the zombie movie and archetype through which to comment on conditions in the world.  Amazing film.  It has been several years since I last watched it and it was wonderful to see it again.  If you have never seen “Night of the Living Dead” check it out on Hulu. 

Wednesday night i watched another older horror movie that i haven’t seen for several years, that being Clive Barker’s “Hellraiser.”  I remember the first time I watched it back in high school thinking that “Hellraiser” was one of the most gruesome movies I’d ever watched and, watching it the other night, even though it is over twenty years old (it originally came out in 1987) I still feel that it is pretty bloody and gross.  Sure, it is a bit dated, and probably not as extreme as some of the more recent horror flicks, but it is still bad ass.  The Cenobites, especially Pinhead, are some creepy mother fuckers.  Again, not too scary but definitely worth the watch.  I really like Clive Barker’s ability to create a genuinely creepy story.  I’ve heard some rumor that there may be a remake of the original “Hellraiser” in the works, which would be awesome if it is well done.

Those are all that I have watched so far.  I have “Shadow of the Vampire” sitting on my desk and might try and watch it tonight.  It is a great twist on “Nosferatu” which itself is still probably one of, if not, the greatest vampire flicks of all time, even considering that it is a silent movie.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable Halloween.

Webster University in Saint Louis has been doing impressive film series for years now.  I’m slightly embarrassed that this is the first that I’ve attended.  I found it suitably ironic that the screenings take place in a converted church, as only devout movie buffs were in attendance for the two plus hour silent film on a Saturday night.
Given that I intend to focus on the film’s Criterion Collection release at a later date, I won’t say much about it now.  However, this screening of the film was accompanied by celebrated silent film pianist Donald Sosin.   I haven’t watched a lot of silent films and I learned a lot about the resurgence of accompaniment over the past thirty years from Mr. Sosin.  If there was an original score or non-original accompaniment notes for Pandora’s Box, they are lost to time.  He noted that at the peak of the silent film era, there were 30,000 musicians employed in silent movie houses in the United States alone.  His score was really wonderful, incorporating original and non-original music, including improvised passages for that evening’s performance.  The Pandora’s Box accompaniment was a marathon of musical performance with no intermissions or breaks.

Mr. Sosin was a wonderful part of the evening and a lucky first live silent film experience for me.  If you are interested in finding out more about the silent community and Mr. Sosin, he has a website; http://www.silent-film-music.com/.  Speaking of the Criterion Collection, Sosin composed and performs original scores on all three films in their new Eclipse set, Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies. 

To find out more about the continuing Webster University Film Series, visit their website; http://www.webster.edu/filmseries.html/.  This coming weekend will conclude the current series.  In the spirit of the holiday, they are showing F.W. Mernau’s Nosferatu (1922) with live accompaniment from the Alloy Orchestra, Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht starring Klaus Kinski (1979) and the fictionalized making-of Nosferatu black comedy, Shadow of the Vampire (2000), starring John Malkovich and Willem Defoe.

Ironically, one of the the most infamous and well-regarded adaptations of Bram Stoker’s seminal novel Dracula, and one of the most influential vampire movies in the history of cinema, is not actually an official adaptation and would be lost today if it weren’t for some happy circumstances. It is the German color-tinted silent film Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie Des Grauens, literally Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror but also known in English as Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Terror, Nosferatu The Vampire and Terror Of Dracula.

Directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau (Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans) and written by Henrik Galeen (The Golem), the film follows Dracula’s story pretty well, mainly omitting some characters and changing names and locations. A real estate employee named Hutter is sent by his boss to meet with the reclusive Count Orlok and sell him a house. Strange events surround him as he arrives and he eventually realizes that Orlok is a vampire, and that his eyes are set on Hutter’s wife Ellen. Trailer and review after the jump.

As I stated earlier, we are damn lucky this film still exists. Indeed, with it being a shameless Dracula rip-off, Bram Stoker’s widow Florence sued the production company Prana Film and won. Thus the company went bankrupt and it was ordered that all existing copies of Nosferatu were to be destroyed, but thankfully the film had already been distributed worldwide and at least five prints survived. It would have been a humongous loss considering the importance this film has had over popular depiction of vampires. Indeed, Nosferatu is the first true vampire film in history and its touch is still felt today. For example you know that little thing about sunlight being fatal to vampires? Yeah, well here’s where it comes from.

Aside from its historical significance, Nosferatu remains a great watch. Split into five acts, the Expressionist film impresses with its atmosphere, its visual power, its metaphorical representation of post-war Germany and its acting, mainly that of Max Shreck, the man portraying Orlok. I don’t have much to say other than anyone interested in cinema should watch this seminal classic, viewed has one of the greatest films of all time. Due to its troubled history several versions exist, including black & white and color-tinted versions, with many different musical scores. Contrary to popular belief, the tinted version is the actual true intended version, not the black & white. So watch that one with, if possible, a reconstruction of the original score by Hans Erdmann.

Nosferatu spawned a remake in 1979 which itself had a sequel, and in 2000, the film Shadow Of The Vampire told a very fictional account of the movie’s production in which Max Shreck actually really was a vampire. Other obvious homages include the character Max Shreck in Batman Returns, The Master from the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the Reapers in Blade II. The film is now in the public domain and can be legally downloaded or streamed for free at the Internet Archive here, or streamed online on Google Video here or YouTube here, here and here. The public copies are unfortunately black & white, so I still recommend seeking out a restored color-tinted DVD, but you have no excuse if you don’t want to shell out cash.

Verdict: A powerful classic that still impresses. Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie Des Grauens currently holds an 8.1/10 on IMDB and a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.

More “Movies Of The Day”

Let me start by saying I laughed out loud three times in the first 10 pages of The Dead Travel Fast, by Eric Nuzum. Like other contemporary writers Sarah Vowell and Tony Horwitz, Nuzum lets us follow along on his quest to understand vampire lore, history, and it’s place in popular culture. It all starts with his realization that vampires seem to permeate our popular culture and he decides to investigate. One lofty goal is to see all 605 films about vampires, including Shadow of the Vampire. ( I think he made it to a little over 200, which is actually remarkable.) He also travels to Romania on a Dracula tour to discover historical places associated with Vlad Dracula, a very real person with lots of unreal mythology surrounding him. I like his description of Highgate Cemetery in London and the way he juxtaposes the history of Bram Stoker’s Dracula with his search for the bench that Stoker sat on when he decided to set his story in Whitby. Hilarious people help him and accompany him on his quest, like Elaina the puking vegetarian and Jeanne the vampire expert/book collector. I kept seeing my future as he described all the books piled on every surface in Jeanne’s apartment. A Dark Shadows convention and adventures with PoliGrip are other highlights. I liked the way Nuzum ends the book.  He brings things together without retreading the whole book which some authors of non-fiction do. I get the impression that he not only learned more about vampires than he ever hoped to, but also learned some things about himself.

I’m sure many Canadians have now seen the Conservative ads talking about how Stephen Harper is nice. What makes me laugh every time is the terrible creepy smile he gives at the end of them. He looks like Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire, it’s terrible.

“Adaptation” (2002 ) – Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is struggling to adapt a book called, “The Orchid Thief.” The author Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) looks for something more in life and finds renegade botanist John Laroche (Chris Cooper). And tagging along trying to be like his twin brother is Donald Kaufman (also Nicolas Cage). Directed by Spike Jonze. Favorite moment: Brian Cox playing screenwriter Robert McKee.

“Baadasssss!” (2003 ) – Mario Van Peebles directed this half-documentary/ half-homage to his father’s movie, “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.” The movie is based on his dad’s experience with making “Sweetback,” Mario’s experiences in/around the set of the movie, and other remembrances of what happened. Also titled: “How to Get the Man’s Foot Outta Your Ass.”

“Barton Fink” (1991 ) – Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a New York playwright summoned by Capital Pictures President Jack Lipnick to write a B-movie “wrestling picture” for Wallace Beery. His only “friend” on the West Coast is Charlie Meadows (John Goodman), his next-room neighbor at the hotel he’s staying at. As he struggles to write the B-picture the world closes in; his mentor W.P. Mayhew (John Mahoney) offers little help and police detectives want to know more about Charlie Meadows. One of my favorites from the Coen Bros. Favorite scene: the hotel hallway is on fire and Charlie Meadows is running down it, cocking his shotgun.

“Bowfinger” (1999 ) – Directed by Frank Oz, “Bowfinger” has Steve Martin (who also wrote) as Bobby Bowfinger, a down-and-almost-out B-movie director/producer. When his friend Afrim produces a script called “Chubby Rain,” Bowfinger sets out to get the biggest name in town to “star”: Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy). Attending the cast auditions are his regulars including an aspiring actress who sleeps to the top (Heather Graham) and Kit’s younger brother Jiff (also played by Eddie Murphy). Favorite moment: Bowfinger driving into Mexico to pick up his “crew” (all illegals).

“CQ” (2001 ) – Roman Coppolla (son of Francis and brother to Sofia) directed this film set in the late-Sixties about an American filmmaker who moves to Paris to make a sci-fi film, and maybe find his purpose in life. Starring Jeremy Davies, Angela Lindvall, Gerard Depardieu, Jason Schwartzman, and Billy Zane, it’s a fun little movie. Favorite moments: anything with agent Dragonfly.

“Get Shorty” (1995 ) – Based on the character created by Elmore Leonard, “Get Shorty” is about mobster Chili Palmer (John Travolta) who goes out to Hollywood to collect on a debt from low-budget horror producer Harry Zimm. Palmer uses his mobster skills to survive and finds that what he really wants is to be a Producer. Good movie overall. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.

“The Player” (1992 ) – Tim Robbins is a studio exec who receives postcards threatening his life from a screenwriter whose script he rejected. As he tries to find the screenwriter to pay him off, he delves further and further into deceit, blackmail, and murder. Full of inside jokes and cameos, this one is worth checking out. Favorite moment: Buck Henry, writer of, “The Graduate,” pitching “The Graduate 2;”something about a ménage a trios… Directed by Robert Altman.

“Shadow of the Vampire” (2000 ) – Historical-based movie with John Malkovich playing F.W. Marnau and Willem Dafoe playing the enigmatic “Shreck” as Marnau was directing his “Dracula”-based movie, “Nosferatu.” When crew members die or disappear, Marnau sees that Shreck has been taking more and more advantage of him. Favorite moments: Willem Dafoe as Shreck.

“State and Main” (2000 ) – When a “big” movie comes to the small town of Waterford, Vermont, all chaos ensues: an actor chases after young girls, a starlet won’t go topless, the “Old Mill” burned down in 1960, and the locals aren’t easily conned. Directed by David Mamet.

“The Stunt Man” (1980 ) – Steve Railsback is a fugitive who stumbles upon the set of a movie being film by Eli Cross (Peter O’Toole). Since the movie needs a new stunt man, Railsback takes the job and falls for the leading lady, Nina Franklin (Barbara Hershey). Favorite moment: at the end of the credits Peter O’Toole yells, “Sam, rewrite the opening reel! Crush the little bastard in the first act!

                     (A 22MOON Rash Manly cool headline)

By Dave Graham

BERLIN (Reuters) – The first screen portrayal of Dracula was so eerie, some critics asked whether the actor himself could be a vampire. But since his death, little has been done to resurrect Max Schreck’s reputation — until now.

Schreck is best remembered for playing the cadaverous vampire Count Orlok in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” the first, unauthorized cinematic adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.”

The rest of his career has been largely forgotten — unjustly, in the view of German author Stefan Eickhoff, who has written what he says is the first biography of Schreck.

“Whoever hopes to discover a vampire will be disappointed, but they will find an actor of real skill and versatility,” said Eickhoff. “Yet he himself remains somewhat shrouded in mystery.”

“Nosferatu” failed to make its lead a star, but achieved such cult status that some film scholars speculated his name — Schreck means “fear” or “fright” in German — was a pseudonym.

In 1953, Greek-born critic Adonis Kyrou mischievously asked in his book “Le Surrealisme au Cinema” whether the actor was a vampire. The idea caught hold and later inspired a film.

Despite years of research, Eickhoff found there were virtually no anecdotes featuring Schreck, nor any references to him in the memoirs of the many people he had worked with.

Instead, Eickhoff’s biography provides a detailed chronicle of the career of Schreck, a civil servant’s son who appeared in around 800 stage and screen roles. Glimpses into the man behind the actor’s mask remain few and far between.

Only in death does Schreck’s character begin to come alive. The most revealing descriptions of the Berliner come from tributes paid to Schreck after he died suddenly in 1936.

Eickhoff’s biography, “Max Schreck — Gespenstertheater” (Ghost theatre) is due to be published later this year.

Contemporaries remembered Schreck, who was married but had no children, as a loyal, conscientious loner with an offbeat sense of humor and a talent for playing the grotesque.

One recalled how he lived in “a remote and strange world” and would spend hours walking through dense, dark forests.

“Nosferatu” helped propel Murnau to a brief but successful Hollywood career, but Schreck faded from the limelight.

The haunting film, which critics later saw as a metaphor for the collective trauma Germany suffered after defeat in World War One, changed the names of Bram Stoker’s characters because the filmmakers failed to get permission to adapt his novel.

After the release, Stoker’s widow sued the production company for breach of copyright, and won a court order to have all prints of the film destroyed. Since it had already been distributed worldwide, this ultimately proved impossible.

Over time, “Nosferatu” became seen internationally as a landmark of early German film and the horror genre — while Schreck’s other work has languished in relative obscurity.

Schreck died of heart failure aged 56, and was buried in an unmarked grave near Berlin, where he was born in 1879.

In the years that followed, his name has lived on in filmlore, thanks to the undying appeal of his most famous role.

In the 1992 sequel “Batman Returns,” Christopher Walken plays a villain called Max Shreck, while in 2000, E. Elias Merhige’s movie “Shadow of the Vampire” cast Willem Dafoe as Schreck the real-life bloodsucker hired to star in “Nosferatu.”

Unlike Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, stars of later Dracula adaptations, Schreck never reprised the role and spent most of his subsequent film career in small, non-horror parts.

But as an actor, he was the equal of both, said Eickhoff.

“Their Draculas were refined creatures, whereas Schreck’s was a more ancient, nightmarish vision,” he said. “In a way, he resembled Lee a bit in that he tested himself in the most varied of roles. And funnily enough, both of them sang too.”

Reuters/Nielsen