German Cinema and the Influence on Early Horror Film

I thought of this as an appropriate topic to talk about, what with Halloween around the corner and horror films popping up on TV. As a cinephile, I think about the horror films of the past and note the longstanding influence of German cinema to the horror genre.

German Expressionism – Why is it “German”

A major art style was going on in Germany in the late 1910s and throughout the 1920s. This art movement is known today as German Expressionism. German Expressionism saw a rejection of other forms of art that was popular in the early years of the 20^th century. In essence, this art style was meant to symbolize the feelings of the people of the Weimar Republic after the Great War.

After the Great War, the blame of the war was lain at the feet of the German people and up until to dissolve of the Weimar Republic in 1933, there had been slow recoveries in the nation’s economy followed by recessions; followed closely by the Great Depression and the devaluing of the German currency. In this time in German history there was mass disillusionment and this was represented in their art and most notably in film.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the Horror Film as a Post War Allegory

 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is generally considered one of the first true horror films. The set-up is simple; a traveling carnival, a mad doctor and a murderous somnambulist (a scapegoat) that he controls in a story told by an unreliable narrator.

Its style is in the vain of German Expressionism; odd angles and sets built with shadows. The feeling of the film is that of total unease as actors walk around as they are sleepwalking. Everything in the world gives off the sense of something wrong.

The film’s authors were writing the film as a revolutionary allegory, with the character of the mad doctor Caligari representing the people in power and the idea of him controlling people as a puppet, only to be exposed; giving off the impression that the film is a means of exposing power.

As written in the book From Caligari to Hitler, the original ending had the character of Caligari going to the asylum, but this was upturned by the director, who added a framing story, where the main character telling the story is the one is the asylum, giving the opposite effect of the film.

While the themes of the film are in conflict, one thing is certain, the film showcases the crisis that was then-currently facing the German identity. To them, they were the scapegoat of the war, due to the people in power, whom they were at the mercy of.

Influence of German Expressionism

The style of German Expressionism can be found in the films of Universal Studios, such as in the Frankenstein films, where the sets and towns give off a traditional German look. The Dracula films borrow from the vampire film Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror, a film by German Expressionist director F.W. Murnau. 

These films with their impact in cinema have shown the power of the German influence on horror film. The popularity of Frankenstein and Dracula propelled the horror film as a main staple of the cinematic genres as well as a film that can turn studio profits. These film from Universal Studios turned literary characters into legendary film ones.