The Haunted Castle (1921)

Despite its title. This movie is not about anything being haunted. There is a dream sequence which has about the only thing closely related to its title.. As far as being a horror movie. Well, all I can say is the film has a atmospheric and psychological approach which by it's time era would be considered horror. OF course, films during this time were labeled "SPOOK TALES". So, unless your looking for the usual horror conventions, you might be a little disappointed. THE movie itself is above average. Interesting enough plot, good acting, and a neat little twist at the end.

Several people in a house come face to face with a murder mystery -- and one of them is guilty of the crime! This film has no familiar actors, and something of a misleading title (it is not a literal translation of the German). The phrase "haunted castle" clearly implies a horror film and not a detective story, but there is very little horror here.Lothar Mehnert stars as Count Oetsch, and although I know absolutely nothing about him, I was very drawn to his performance. He has a striking look that I think makes for a good stage or screen presence. What else has he done? I do not know, but should seek it out.The film is light on humor, though there is a sequence I will call "the kitchen boy dream" that I found funny. What is it implying? What does it mean? How does it connect to the big story? I have no idea.The Kino DVD contains a book / film comparison and I would recommend this. It shows how radically different the film is in some ways from the book. While the essence is the same, I would almost have to say they are two different creatures altogether.

Be advised that this film was released by Alpha Video--a company that ever seems to do any restoration on their films. This is especially problematic for old silent films like this one, as the print is so poor it's almost not worth seeing the film. But, in many cases, there are no other companies releasing that particular video, so you either take it or leave it! As I am a nut about silents, I realized the print would totally suck--so it wasn't any surprise that it did. Sadly, both films on this DVD (this one and "Wolf Blood") were pretty ragged prints and despite the great titles, neither are really horror films. In addition, watching "The Haunted Castle" was a bit more difficult because both the German AND English subtitles appeared on the screen together--this took a bit of time to get used to.The biggest reason I got this DVD was it was directed by the amazing F.W. Murnau--the man responsible just one year later for "Nosferatu" (probably the scariest silent horror film) as well as "The Last Laugh", "Faust" and "Sunrise"--four of the greatest silents ever made. I have already seen about eight of his films (perhaps one or two more) and was excited when it came in the mail. UNFORTUNATELY, this was not among the director's better films and I honestly think most silent film buffs would never suspect this was one of his films if they weren't told it was. That's because the film lacks the style and the skill you'd expect from a great director--let alone Murnau. Now this isn't saying it's a terrible film--it just isn't a particularly distinguished one.The story is about a house guest who arrives and refuses to leave the castle--even though he's thought by many to be a murderer--and the widow is also scheduled to arrive! This is a dumb ploy, as this was a private home--why didn't they just have the police toss him out of the home?! This made no sense at all. Through the course of the film, this accused but acquitted murderer unravels a plan to expose the killer. The last 1/4 of the film is pretty cool--but the first 3/4 is sluggish and archaic--made in a plodding and old fashioned style even for 1921. Overall, nothing particularly distinguished about this film...even if it is a Murnau film. It's probably mostly of interest to film historians and die-hard silent fans like myself.

I'm not going to give away any of the plot in this review, it's worth simply watching the film and going with it.However, I did want to address a couple of things in previous reviews.Firstly there is a review from MARIO GAUCI that isn't exactly complementary. The thing is, the reviewer clearly saw a very inferior print of the movie, likely missing almost 30 minute3s of footage.Like all movies, you really ought to give the benefit of the doubt to movies that you're seeing in 16mm reductions prints with a third of the film (which, true, at the time the other DVD of this came out, was considered "lost") missing. If you're into silent film, then don't go the cheapo route - spend the money on good restorations, it really pays dividends.Secondly there is mention of the acting here being "stagey". This is a comment I see often, but i never truly understand it. This was made in 1921! If you're watching a piece of early cinema you can't expect the realism that we see on the screen today. Not only did the rules of cinema not exist at the time these films were made, but the technology available at the tie didn't allow for it. The call this film "stagey" is, if you don't mind me saying, rather ignorant. What did you expect? Instead, approach this for what it is. It is an early mystery film. There are some good performances, but I mostly enjoyed the shots of the rain drenched roads and fields. The dream sequences do a good job of balancing fear and comedy, and while the plot is rather transparent to modern minds, if you can set aside your critique and just allow the film to wash over you, it really works quite well.