E. Elias Merhige

Edmund Elias Merhige (; born June 14, 1964) is an American film director.

Career Merhige is best known for his work on the 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire and to underground audiences for the cult 1989 film Begotten. He has also directed music videos for Marilyn Manson.

Merhige started in the New York theatre scene, and first conceived Begotten as a work of experimental theatre, casting many actors from his company in supporting roles. Following the release of his last feature film Suspect Zero, Merhige has mostly returned to work in the theatre.

Critical reception Eugene Thacker, writing about Begotten, placed Merhige's work "between genre horror and performance art," marking Begotten as a "ritual in cinematic time," and concluding that the next step in Merhige's art offering "presumably, would be to allow everything to dissolve - human into non-human, body into environment, image into emulsions of gelatin, crystal, and camphor."

Filmography Short film Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1983 Implosion 1984 Spring Reign 1985 A Taste of Youth 2006 Din of Celestial Birds Also cinematographer 2022 Polia & Blastema: A Cosmic Opera

Feature film Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes 1989 Begotten Also cinematographer and special effects 2000 Shadow of the Vampire 2004 Suspect Zero

Music video Year Title Artist1996 "Antichrist Superstar" Marilyn Manson "Serpentia" Danzig "Cryptorchid" Marilyn Manson 2007 "The Heinrich Maneuver" Interpol