John Malkovich plays his usual over-the-top character as the films director F.W. Murnau. A man so possessed with the idea of making the perfect film that he will go to the trouble of working with a real vampire. Willem Dafoe is the star of the film, billed as Max Schreck. The rest of the cast is told that Max is such a dedicated actor that he will only appear in character, only at night, and answer to the name Nosferatu. We of course know that he is an actual vampire, and we're nervously laughing as he "acts" in the film. At any moment he may just lash out and bite someone. Defoe is nearly unrecognizable under his make-up Nosferatu, matching perfectly with the 1922 version.

Shooting in Nosferatu's castle the production runs into quite a bit of trouble. The first night there the cinematographer is attacked and is soon on his way to the morgue. This infuriates Murnau, but does not stop filming. He wants the most authentic film possible, working this way is his only answer. Slowly the rest of the crew realizes what is going on, however by this time they are so wrapped up in the madness that they only want to continue. This leads to a horrific climax that is inevitable.