Willem Dafoe is a cinematic treasure. Ever since his breakthrough in Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning movie, Platoon, Dafoe has been gracing our screens with iconic and memorable performances. His filmography is impressively lengthy. He is appeared in big-budget flicks just like the not too long ago launched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and 2002’s Spider-Man. His efficiency because the maniacal Inexperienced Goblin ranks as one of many best and most iconic villains in cinema.
Dafoe has additionally appeared in “smaller”, beloved movies like The Boondock Saints, American Psycho, The Florida Venture, The Grand Budapest Resort, Poor Issues, and a lot extra. However buried amongst these dozens upon dozens of movies on Dafoe’s resume are 5 little vampire films. Considered one of them you have undoubtedly heard of: 2024’s highly-anticipated movie, Nosferatu. How does this movie evaluate to Dafoe’s different vampire films? Let’s have a look. Listed below are all 5 vampire flicks that includes Willem Dafoe ranked by Rotten Tomatoes, together with the newly launched Nosferatu.
5
‘Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant’ (2009)
37%
- Launch Date
-
October 23, 2009
- Runtime
-
109 minutes
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is a free adaptation of the Vampire Blood guide trilogy, also referred to as the Cirque du Freak trilogy, the primary trilogy in The Saga of Darren Shan. It follows a youngster who joins a touring sideshow of unusual and monstrous creatures, the Cirque du Freak, after being reworked right into a vampire. Dafoe performs the supporting character Gavner Purl, an uptight vampire who appears to be like down on people.
An Unworthy Adaptation
Cirque du Freak acquired destructive critiques, as you possibly can see from its 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie was additionally a field workplace catastrophe, prompting Common to scrap its plans for 3 proposed sequels. Possibly this movie would’ve carried out just a little higher if they’d given it a extra alluring title, like Vampire Blood relatively than Cirque du Freak.
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4
‘The Starvation’ (1983)
58%
The Starvation
Lengthy earlier than his breakthrough position in Platoon, Willem Dafoe appeared in 1983’s The Starvation. A free adaptation of the eponymous novel by Whitley Strieber, The Starvation facilities on a love triangle between a vampire couple and a human physician, who focuses on sleep and getting older analysis. This film options a few huge names, comparable to Susan Sarandon because the human physician and music legend David Bowie as a vampire.
A Small however Memorable Position in a Forgettable Film
Dafoe had a quick look within the movie, as a younger man who harasses Bowie’s character. The Starvation did not carry out nicely critically or commercially, scoring a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. However within the years since its launch, The Starvation has change into a cult traditional. Warner Bros. has plans to develop a remake, which can hopefully fare higher than its predecessor.
3
‘Daybreakers’ (2010)
69%
- Launch Date
-
January 8, 2010
- Runtime
-
98 minutes
Daybreakers is an intriguing mixture of sci-fi and horror. It takes the idea of a world pandemic to a brand new degree, after an contaminated vampire bat begins a plague that transforms many of the world’s inhabitants into vampires. Set in a futuristic world overrun by vampires, Daybreakers follows an organization that is researching an alternative choice to human blood whereas attempting to seize the remaining people.
Overshadowed by ‘Twilight’
Daybrakers options some notable names, comparable to Ethan Hawke and Sam Neil, each of whom play vampires. Shockingly, Willem Dafoe doesn’t play a vampire. He performs a human who’s been cured of his vampire illness and is now main a rebel of human survivors. Daybreakers scored decently nicely with critics, wracking up a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sadly, this movie was launched in the course of the vampire craze of Twilight, inflicting it to go missed. Daybreakers was additionally overshadowed by different main releases on the time, together with Avatar and Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr.
2
‘Shadow of the Vampire’ (2001)
82%
Shadow of the Vampire
- Launch Date
-
December 29, 2000
- Runtime
-
92min
Apparently, Shadow of the Vampire is carefully linked to Nosferatu. It captures the making of the 1922 silent movie and consists of all its real-life gamers, such because the film’s director, F. W. Murnau, performed right here by John Malkovich. Whereas capturing the movie, the forged and crew of Nosferatu start to suspect that their lead actor, Max Schreck, would possibly truly be a vampire. Max Schreck is the actor who performs the enduring vampire Depend Orlok in the actual film. However don’t fret, Schreck wasn’t actually a vampire. That is only a enjoyable, fictionalized story behind the manufacturing of Nosferatu.
An Academy Award-Nominated Efficiency
Max Schreck/Depend Orlock is performed right here by Willem Dafoe. His efficiency was lauded by critics, incomes him an Academy Award nomination for Greatest Supporting Actor. This was Dafoe’s second nomination on this class (the primary being Platoon), although he wound up shedding to Benicio del Toro’s position in Visitors.
Dafoe’s efficiency eerily resembled Schrek’s portrayal from the unique movie, aided partly by his phenomenal make-up workforce, who earned additionally an Academy Award nomination for Greatest Make-up (they misplaced to How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey). Shadow of the Vampire is considered one among Dafoe’s finest films and performances, scoring a strong 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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1
‘Nosferatu’ (2024)
90%
- Launch Date
-
December 25, 2024
- Runtime
-
2h 12m
2024’s Nosferatu is the newest remake of the 1922 silent movie of the identical identify. Though it is a plagiarized rip-off of Bram Stocker’s Dracula, Nosferatu has cast its personal cinematic legacy within the 100+ years since its launch. 1922’s Nosferatu is seen as a cinematic masterpiece and a serious affect on the horror style and the vampire subgenre. And this 2024 remake is shaping as much as be simply pretty much as good. It is attracting a number of hype and fanfare — and likewise a number of good critiques. On the time of writing, 2024’s Nosferatu has scored a powerful 90% on Rotten Tomatoes amongst 124 critics. Seductive and scary, it pays homage to the 1922 unique whereas standing as its personal nice movie, offering a contemporary replace to this horror traditional.
From Vampire to Hunter
Nosferatu was written and directed by Robert Eggers, who’s made a reputation for himself within the horror style with films like The Witch and The Lighthouse. Eggers’ newest entry contains a star-studded forged that features horror icon Invoice Skarsgård because the well-known titular character, alongside Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Oh, and there is additionally Willem Dafoe, who performs Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a Van Helsing-type vampire hunter who’s truly an unique character on this movie. Nosferatu simply launched on Christmas and can undoubtedly hang-out everybody’s holidays for the remainder of the yr — and perhaps even past that.