Cinema - German films

German cinema: Horror

Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari (1920)

Robert Wiene

Seated on a park bench, a young man, Francis, tells an older man the tragic story of his fiancée. It began some years ago, when he and his friend, Alan, were in love with the same young woman, Jane... One day, Francis and Alain decide to visit a travelling fair at which one of the exhibits is Dr Caligari’s cabinet... [More...]

Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

Werner Herzog

In the midst of dead, barren landscape there sits a secluded institution, which might be a prison or a lunatic asylum. All of the people in the institution – the director, the guards, the inmates - are dwarfs. Everyone in this world is a dwarf. One day, the inmates of the institution rise up against the director, who reacts by taking one of the prisoners hostage and locking himself in his office... [More...]

Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920)

Carl Boese

16th century Prague. Whilst studying the stars through his telescope, the aged Rabbi Loew foresees a troubled time ahead for his people. Sure enough, the Emperor Luhois issues a decree expelling all Jews from their ghetto. To save his people, the Rabbi summons up the demon Astaroth to bring to life a clay statue he has constructed... [More...]

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)

F.W. Murnau

Real estate agent Herr Hutter lives with his young wife Ellen in the German town of Wisborg. At the request of his employer, the mysterious Herr Knock, Hutter travels to the Carpathian Mountains to conclude the purchase of a property with a certain Count Orlok. Ignoring the advice of the terrified locals, Hutter enters the Count’s remote castle and settles the business transaction... [More...]

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

Werner Herzog

Lured by the prospect of a substantial commission, real estate merchant Jonathan Harker sets out for Transylvania, to sell a house to the mysterious Count Dracula. Arriving at the Count’s run-down castle after nightfall, Harker is greeted by Dracula, a pale ghoul-like creature with a strange appetite for blood... [More...]

The Serpent’s Egg (1977)

Ingmar Bergman

In November 1923, American Jew Abel Rosenberg finds himself in Berlin. He is alone, unemployed, and finding it hard to keep his grip on reality, in a country that is heading for political and economic meltdown. He was a famous trapeze artist, but now his partner Max is dead, driven to suicide. Abel hooks up with Max’s wife, Manuela, a prostitute and cabaret performer, but then finds himself suspected of perpetrating a series of bizarre killings... [More...]

Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)

Fritz Lang

Disgraced cop Hofmeister tries to redeem himself by uncovering a counterfeiting operation. Before he can pass his findings on to Inspector Lohmann, he is cornered by his enemies and driven mad. Lohmann’s investigation leads him to a lunatic asylum which is housing Dr Mabuse, a once notorious criminal mastermind... [More...]

Vampyr (1932)

Carl Theodor Dreyer

A student of the Occult, Allan Gray, is travelling in France when he arrives at the remote village of Courtempierre. Whilst staying at an inn, he is visited by an old man who gives him a parcel, not to be opened until after his death. Some mysterious shadows lead Gray to an isolated castle in which lives the old man he met at the inn, with his two young daughters, Gisèle and Léone... [More...]

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