Tuesday, 23 December 2014

No real ghosts

The Haunted Castle (1921)

Directed by F. W. Murnau this film based on the novel of the same name stars Arnold Korff, Lothar Mehnert, Olga Tschechowa and Paul Bildy. Aristocrats meet for a shoot at a castle in Germany when a Count suspected of killing his brother turns up uninvited causing problems with his brother's widow.

While the titles suggests a horror film and the presence of F. W. Murnau makes you hope for an expressionist film we get neither here. The plot is a fairly bland murder mystery where we do not even get to see the murder take place. There are the smallest hints of what was to come from Murnau in the direction but not enough to make this film stand out.


3/5

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