The streaming platform war continues, and now, with Halloween approaching, it expands with horror movies and series of all styles aiming to connect with the audience. From Netflix’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” to Tim Burton’s films, many of them on Disney Plus, each platform attacks with what it has, and Amazon Prime Video has surprised with a very intriguing movie: “M, the Vampire of Düsseldorf.”
Dated back to 1931, it is a film by Fritz Lang that is considered one of the best in the history of thriller and suspense. Now, thanks to its surprising addition to Amazon Prime Video, it is finding a new life that no one expected at this point. Despite being so old and in black and white, it is finding its audience.
One of the most terrifying classic films ever remembered
In “M, the Vampire of Düsseldorf,” the brilliant Peter Lorre portrays the sadistic Hans Beckert, a child murderer who continues to kidnap and terrorize young girls in the city of Berlin. Despite the police’s desperate and ceaseless search for him, Beckert easily eludes them. In fact, the police end up detaining anyone even remotely suspicious, clearing the path for the killer.
While Beckert continues his crimes, and with the police seemingly ineffective, the criminal underworld leaders, furious due to the raids they are suffering because of the killer, begin to search for him on their own. This sets off a three-way cat-and-mouse chase that only grows larger and more intense.
The film features several unique cinematic techniques for its time, such as the use of leitmotif in the soundtrack—a technique never seen before at that point—and expressionist acting. Undoubtedly, a gem that is worth (re)discovering.
