Tag: Willem Dafoe

Movie of the Week: ‘Shadow of the Vampire’

Jeff Mitchell

AHFW takes a trippy trip to 2000 and a look back at E. Elias Merhige’s highly memorable “Shadow of the Vampire” starring Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich.  Merhige’s flick is part-drama, part-comedy and part-horror, as it retells director F.W. Murnau’s (Malkovich) making of “Nosferatu” (1922).  The wrinkle is that Murnau personally hires actor Max Schreck (Dafoe) to play Count Orlok, but this unknown thespian displays bizarre behavior and – for some reason – never removes his makeup. Mmm, it makes you think that maybe….. Well, don’t speculate, we recommend that…

‘The Lighthouse’ is a mesmerizing visual feast…and a rudderless waste of time

Jeff Mitchell

“The Lighthouse” – Robert Eggers’ follow-up to his eerie, creepy horror film “The Witch” (2015) (4/4 stars) is an equally eerie, creepy drama about two weathered men watching over a lonely lighthouse. There’s little doubt that this visual feast sets a disturbing tone, as “The Lighthouse” has an Ingmar Bergman-“Hour of the Wolf”-thing working greatly in its favor.  Filmed entirely in black and white and almost exclusively with a 1:1 aspect ratio (or very close to it), Eggers delivers a horrible sense of doom on a teeny, tiny island near…

‘At Eternity’s Gate’ paints a memorable Van Gogh portrait

Jeff Mitchell

“At Eternity’s Gate” – “When facing a flat landscape, I see nothing but eternity.” – Vincent Van Gogh (Willem Dafoe) Director Julian Schnabel’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (2007) – the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby’s struggle with nearly-total paralysis – floats into a dream-like state, as the film delivers a sensitive portrayal of the man’s limited physical capabilities and deeply resonant firsthand experiences.  Bauby’s left eye was not paralyzed, as Schnabel attempts to capture the former “Elle” magazine editor’s rich viewpoint through this unique lens. The director takes a…