Carl Theodor Dreyer directs Julian West, Maurice Schutz and Rena Mandel in this early horror where a lodger is stalked by apparitions of the dead.
An eerie spin on Bram Stoker and Nosferatu with plenty of clever shot manipulations and shadow play. It isn’t as genuinely terrifying as Murnau silent classic nor as narratively rigorous as Frankenstein or Freaks but it hits the spot. The kinda of consistently surreal and foreboding visuals that used to be projected on nightclub walls for kitsch atmosphere back in my day. It can feel like a bit of a grab bag of various potent horror legends, and there’s now a perverse fun to seeing all the deep dive critical readings of what essentially is an early spook house ride that has stood the test of time.
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Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk
We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/
