One woman, four men who are trying to steal her from her husband, one miserable dinner party.
It makes for great German Expressionism though, full of suggestive shadows and leading to a crazed third act in which a traveling illusionist induces a cautionary hallucination on the whole group that shows the violent outcome toward which they’re all spiraling. It’s a story uniquely suited to silent cinema. Feelings of love and jealousy are always evident through body language. Words are sometimes mere cheap decoration on the rich layer cake of such human drama. And this is a film that takes its silence seriously. That means NO TITLE CARDS. There are no words whatsoever here outside of the title sequence and character introductions. There’s no dialogue, no written narration, no nothin’. To the film’s lasting credit, it’s very easy to follow. If you’ve ever had your own jealous moments, at least.
This is often labeled as a horror film, but I disagree. It’s more of a melodrama gone mad.