Shadow of the Vampire: Creepy, subtle, well-acted

F.W. Murnau's German Expressionist classic, Nosferatu [1922], is arguably the best vampire movie ever made. Capitalizing on the heightened emotions and stark shades of black-and-white, silent film, Nosferatu basically rips off the plot of Dracula, but simplifies it to its basic darkness vs. light plot. Max Schrek, looming with inexorable and silent menace, embodies the Nosferatu character so well that he seems less like an actor playing a role and more like a nightmare given substance.

Shadow of the Vampire takes this idea -- what if Schrek really was a vampire playing an actor playing a vampire? -- and runs with it into the territory of midnight-black comedy and dazzling insanity.

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History is people, and they are talking to you.

Fountain Hughes, 101 when interviewed in 1949, talks with his nephew about what it was like, growing up as a slave. You can actually hear an audio recording of him!! My favorite part is when he's talking about the music that he sang in church, and he "gets the spirit," but he can't sing because he's "too hoarse."

Tempe Herndon Durham, 103 when interviewed in 1937, says she was "real lucky" compared to other slaves. Not an audio recording, unfortunately, but you can get an idea of her speech patterns with the relatively phonetic transcription here. My favorite part is when she's telling about jumping over the broom on her wedding day. Her husband trips, so her master teases her husband that her husband will be bossed by Tempe all his days. Dramatization of an excerpt here.

Recommended: Tananarive Due's African Immortals series

I'm currently reading Blood Colony, the last book in Tananarive Due's African Immortals trilogy. ( Details about some pretty awesome vampire novels inside. )

Verdict: With a sympathetic cast [including assertive and realistic women, woooo hoooo!], the pacing of a suspense series and a compelling moral exploration that most fantasy trilogies can't hold a candle to, the African Immortals trilogy provides an intelligent and delicious revision of vampire lore. 

Recommended: Tananarive Due's African Immortals series

I'm currently reading Blood Colony, the last book in Tananarive Due's African Immortals trilogy. ( Details about some pretty awesome vampire novels inside. )

Verdict: With a sympathetic cast [including assertive and realistic women, woooo hoooo!], the pacing of a suspense series and a compelling moral exploration that most fantasy trilogies can't hold a candle to, the African Immortals trilogy provides an intelligent and delicious revision of vampire lore.