Expressionism, Horror, and Noir- An Unholy Trinity
 

Much of what is considered "classic Horror" in film is the direct descendant of German Expressionism.

Everything from the use of black and white film to create mood with stark light and shadow to stylised and twisted sets was inspired by German Expressionism of the 1920s.

And after the explosion of Horror films in the 1930s died down in the 40s, gangster movies became more popular. They, in turn, adopted the expressionist black and white style, and became known later as "Noir" films.

There are just a few films that I think transcend just one of these genres and utilize two or all three of them.

The best example I can think of is M from 1931 by Fritz Lang.

It is a German gangster film before the gangster craze in America, and so could be called one of the first Noir films and the last German Expressionist films.

But what really makes it especially interesting is the fact that on top of these elements is the very real element of Horror in the film. It follows the killing spree of a murderous pedophile (Peter Lorre) and it's aftermath.

The film focuses much on both the police and gangsters and their respective witch hunts for the killer, but the scenes with Lorre are incredibly disturbing and haunting.

So in addition to being one of the first Noir films, it may be the first serial killer Horror film as well.

M is the best example I can think of as being an Expressionist, Noir and Horror film all at once. It is an incredible film.

Please post any others you might think of that fall into this category!

I absolutely love the old German Expressionist films. I am particularly fond of their use of slanted and crooked backdrops to represent buildings.

An amazing and masterpiece film for sure, but I don't know if it could be called the first serial killer film- there were silent versions of the Jack the Ripper case (Hitchcock's first version of The Lodger) and Sweeney Todd.

M is definitely one of my favorites.

Cool. I have to check those out! Yeah, I had a feeling I was jumping the gun on that one...but it is one of the first noir films, and I consider it a horror film as well.