M

“M” was, to my surprise, a much better, somewhat creepier, suspense film than I had expected. What was ironic, however, was that it was the lack of effects that made it so.

When I heard it was going to actually have sound in it, I expected the modern films where you could hear everything that was going on. For instance, I had expected that the scene with the child murderer hiding in the corner of that room in the building from his pursuers would have the (what I consider to be traditional, because of my generation) frantic hyperventilation sounds signifying his fear. Instead, there was no sound, but I found that the hectic feeling was actually doubled; I found I liked it better, because it displayed the truth of the situation: the murderer would not be concerned with his own breathing so much, but rather the disheartening silence that yielded the possibility of hazardous discovery. Then of course there was the eerie feeling of fate coming from the silent screen as I watched the child’s balloon and ball float and roll free from her lifeless hands.

Other times, it had sort of a disorienting feeling. People could be living out their daily lives, slamming doors behind them as they walked up creaky old stairs, yet I could not hear anything of that action. This disorientation also took place when the mob of people was trying to read the sign about the murderer. The camera focused on the poster, showing the backs of everyone’s heads so you could not tell who was talking, almost making you like one of the crowd.

This was quite a skilled irony. Though the film had the innovation of dialogue and other features in sound, it was the lack thereof that produced the most intense effect.