Highly Overrated But Still Good

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

In this film, a man shows up. He is accused, though never convicted of the murder of a man. The man's widow comes on the scene and is torn apart with distress. There is all kinds of endless gnashing of teeth. One man is so afraid that he leaves after an anxiety attack. There is no haunting and there is no castle, just lots of nondescript characters sitting around worrying. The final part of the film is reasonably entertaining, as a priest comes on the scene. This is probably Murnau experimenting with cinema. Had he put out another movie like this one, there may not have been any more. Most of the dialogue is presented in boxes that seem to lack any soul at all.

"The Haunted Castle" is one of the lesser known and rather unpopular – judging by the other user comments – earliest accomplishments by the great visual artist F.W. Murnau ("Nosferatu", "Faust", "Der Januskopf"). Personally I fail to comprehend why it's so obscure and neglected, because I watched an ambitious and even convoluted whodunit/mystery thriller with eerily atmospheric set pieces, intriguing characters and a few nicely elaborated moments of suspense. Okay, first and foremost, the English title is misleading and even downright irrelevant. The titular caste isn't haunted or besieged by ghosts whatsoever. It's merely the gathering place of a selected clique of prominent aristocrats on the evening before they go fox-hunting. The cozy ambiance is disturbed when the uncanny Count Oetsch shows up at the castle uninvited. Oetsch is accused, especially by the widow, of murdering his own brother. His former sister-in-law arrives later at the party, together with her new husband, and tension rises among the group. The countess goes to confession with another guest, namely the honorable Father Faramünd from Rome. When he mysteriously vanishes as well, Count Oetsch is suddenly suspected of two murders, especially since he behaves so arrogantly and strange. "The Haunted Castle" certainly isn't the visually astounding and hypnotizing expressionist masterpiece that "Nosferatu" was. It's more of a straightforward thriller relying on plot instead of Gothic atmosphere and experimental choreography. This movie is, in fact, released one whole decade sooner than it should have been released. The script is overly "talkative" and contains more interruptions to display dialog and descriptions than any other silent movie from that era I have seen. And then still it seems as if Murnau needed more opportunities for text, as too many sequences show characters talking without their conversations being translated in writing. I really think that F.W. Murnau craved for sound technology here, more half a decade before it became possible, to let his characters express themselves and to generate the apt mood. Nevertheless, a more than interesting and warmly recommended piece of antique for cinema fanatics to check out.

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.