The Golem (1920) REVIEW

Another silent expressionist flick! “The Golem or How He Came into the World” was released in 1920, the same year as “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”. It was co-directed and starred by german pioneer film maker Paul Wegener. He portrays a monster-man of clay brought to life by a rabbi to defend the Jews from trouble in medieval Prague.

 This was not the first time Wegener put on the role of the Golem, as this is the third installment in a trilogy featuring the monster. Why would I review the final one first, instead of the other two? Well, sadly the other two are lost. However information about them has been found and also scraps of footage, but nothing more than a few minutes. The first one, titled simply “The Golem” was released in 1915 and it drew its story from the Jewish myth of a rabbi named Judah Loew that brought a man made of clay to life through magic, in order to protect the Jewish ghetto of medieval Prague. The film was centered around an antique shop owner who found the Golem in the present day (present day in the 1910’s) and brought him back to life. The Golem turns evil and goes on a killing spree, also kidnapping the shop owner’s daughter. The second one was titled “The Golem and the Dancing Girl” and was released in 1917. Very little is known about this one except that it was a parody shown in army bases in World War 1 to cheer up german soldiers. And lastly the third one, which is actually a prequel to the 1915 “The Golem”, tells the events that happened centuries earlier with the man of clay. It was titled “The Golem or How He Came into the World” and was released in 1920. At the time of its release these three films encompassed the first horror trilogy in the history of cinema!

 Even since its first image, Rabbi Loew looking at the stars, you feel the mysticism Wegener tried to capture, it being intensified by the expressionist look. Unlike Caligari, this movie does not use its art style to represent the sanity of someone, but instead uses it to envelop itself in a surreal, dreamy mood that fits perfectly the story of dark magic it is about. Although it came in between world wars in Germany and most of its characters are Jews or Jew-related, this film is not anti-Semitic, as Paul Wegener was not politically driven and he simply borrowed inspiration from a Jewish myth.

 “The Golem” as it is famously known by just the first part of the name, has left a tremendous legacy. Every time you’ve seen a big, super strong brute in a horror movie, it came from here, this is the first one. And what does that make you think of? My guess is Frankenstein’s Monster. Universal’s Frankenstein was made in the shoulders of the Golem, and then every big, strong brute since. It’s a legacy of playing God and then having your creation turn against you. Recommended for the same reasons as “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, anyone interested in horror movie history or german expressionism this is for you. It’s not the best but it sure delivers. 7/10.