6. Shadow Of The Vampire
E. Elias Merhige's brilliantly meta vampire yarn details the obsessive traits of famed filmmaker F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) during the production of arguably the most famous vampire film of all time, his superb Nosferatu (which I'll be discussing in greater detail in a moment). Shadow of a Vampire is not a film that should be confused with fact, something that should become abundantly clear to viewers once Murnau decides to hire an actual vampire, Max Schreck, (William Dafoe) to make his film as authentic as possible. Though the film might seem to be a little unfair on the real-life Schreck, who was by all accounts a skilled actor rather than an actual vampire, it's worth the ruse simply because Merhige has so much fun playing with convention. Dafoe is the clear stand-out - being Oscar-nominated for the role - as the twitchy, reptilian vampire, scarcely recognisable underneath a pile of make-up (which also received an Oscar nomination), and helping make this an irreverent tribute to one of the horror genre's most iconic mainstays.