10 Scariest Horror Movie Vampires
8. Max Schreck - Shadow Of The Vampire
Max Schreck has the infamy of being both one of the most terrifying creatures to ever appear on screen, and to also be a truly frightening subject in this faux-documentary as well. Played with a hungry glee by Oscar-Nominated Willem Dafoe, Schreck is the thing that nightmares are made of.
Shadow of the Vampire purports to document the making of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu, directed by Frederick Wilhelm Murnau and starring Max Schreck as the reclusive Count Orlock. For the purposes of this documentary, the audience are told that Schreck is a committed character actor, who will only appear in costume and will only film at night.
It is a mark of Dafoe's skill that this role, one that could so easily fall into self-parody, is elevated to a truly frightening portrayal of both the hunger of a monster and the insane determination of Murnau, he himself another monster, willing to sacrifice everything to capture the perfect shot.
Schreck dances around the final scenes, watching him with a gluttony close to starvation, taking his time and following Murnau's lead before he takes the man to his final destiny. Rightly nominated for his performance, Dafoe has never been more disturbing as the creature pictured above. He wants to feed - but there's no reason he can't be in the pictures at the same time.