An outstanding concept that isn’t executed quite right. Out of the countless vampire themed films to emerge this past decade, this is one of the more original. Mehrige does a commendable job of maintaining an eerie mood throughout. However, his horror elements are presented with too heavy a hand, and they tend to drown out the comedic moments.
The performances are all over the place here. Eddie Izzard is memorable as always. Udo Kier plays, well, Udo Kier. Cary Elwes’ performance seems a little too deliberately measured, and feels awkward against the other turns. The same can be said, but to a stronger degree, about John Malkovich. His turn nearly knocks the movie out of balance. The movie’s major saving grace (and the one REAL reason to definitely catch this one) is the performance of Willem Dafoe as Max Schreck. When Malkovich threatens to push the audience away, Dafoe draws them back in. A big, bombastic, slightly insane turn, this performance should have won Dafoe his long elusive Oscar. He always seems to be the best the more lurid and stylized his characters are, and this take on the man who played the first Count Dracula is an amazing fete- he takes a real-life figure, yet still manages to create something completely original.