Shadow of the Vampire goes against the tide of summer flicks packed with hi-tech wizardry.
But it shows the sheer attraction of a genre that can be traced to the era of the oldest film-making techniques.
The story is about the making of the first vampire movie in cinema history - the 1922 German classic Nosferatu . It cleverly builds on rumours that the protagonist, Count Orlock, is played by a real vampire.
Ambitious German director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) hires Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), whom he finds in Czechoslovakia, to take the main role to bring unprecedented authenticity to his work.
Murnau makes a pact with Schreck, promising him the neck of the leading actress Greta Schroeder (Catherine McCormack) after they finish the last scenes.
Murnau explains Schreck's eccentricity to his crew, saying he is a method actor who wants all scenes shot at night. Schreck proceeds to fascinate as well as horrify the crew. As his bloodlust gets out of control, the crew mysteriously fall ill one after the other.