A man-made monster learns love is the deadliest weapon of all — and he's taking notes.
The homunculus and his companion Edgar Rodin make an invention that would allow the hateful homunculus to destroy the world. But first he wants to find out about love. When he observes how young Anna is rejected by her parents, he takes care of her and asks her parents for forgiveness - without success. He brings her to her seducer, who also rejects the girl. The homunculus then takes revenge by ruining the man financially and throwing Anna at his feet. But she still loves the villain and asks Homunculus for mercy. The homunculus cannot understand this feeling of love - he wants to try it out on himself. He puts a young woman who loves him to the hardest test, but she will do anything for him, sacrificing her fiancé and her parents. Only when he reveals his artificial nature to her, she leaves him. This experience confirms the homunculus in his intention to destroy mankind.
Direction
Rippert's shadow-heavy compositions predate German Expressionism's peak.
Practical Effects
1916 creature design and lab sets that still unsettle.
Acting
Fønss's physicality conveys inhumanity without a single spoken word.
Director
Otto Rippert
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during WWI, the film's misanthropic climax echoed contemporary fears of civilization's collapse. German audiences watched a manufactured being destroy mankind while their own world burned.
Olaf Fønss wore the same heavy makeup through six hour-long episodes — this 64-minute version is a condensed cut. The original serial is considered lost.
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