The Avenger (1960) by Karl Anton

Director: Karl Anton

Year: 1960

Country: West Germany

Alternate Titles: Der Rächer

Genre: Krimi

Plot:

After the discovery of a decapitated body, the police investigating the incident realize how close it falls in line with other killings around the community and look into a set of clues pointing to a movie being shot in the area, bringing him in contact with assorted red herrings who might be the killer.

Review:

Overall, this was a fairly fun genre effort. Among the better features of this one is the manner in which the investigation brings about the central mystery, which is quite intriguing and well-handled. The discovery of the latest body in the crime spree and how it finally brings the inspector onto the case to solve the killings due to the political intrigue and pressure necessary to put an end to everything starts this one quite well. The back-and-forth banter discussing how the latest offering brings up new clues to the case and the realization that it’s connected to the film shoot going on in the area makes for a solid opening here to bring the different figures together with their own purposes. With the inspector trying to put an end to the killings, a reporter looking to break his career, and the actress hoping the movie will be her big break, this one is enjoyable enough, putting the pieces together to ensure that the mystery component here is intriguing enough.

As the case begins to form itself and the exploits of the various red herrings are established, the film becomes a bit more interesting with how the movie shoot gets mixed up. With shifty characters throughout here, including the manic director, sleazy producer, diva-like leading lady, and sundry other characters working around the production, everything sets itself up for multiple figures to be involved in the crimes that soon become apparent through spying on others during the shooting, attacking women in the middle of the night, or stalking victims through creepy hallways or darkly lit rooms. This helps to enhance the final half, where the series of encounters and stalking scenes bring about a much higher and more obvious sense of danger, with the suspects meeting up with the killer and getting knocked off. The final reveal and exposure of the killer is a solid time as well, with the full extent of the plan to carry everything out and getting a solid chase out of it as well, making for some generally fun aspects.

There isn’t much to dislike here, but it does have a few minor drawbacks. The main issue here is the immensely slack and sluggish pacing in the first hour, where it tends to be quite dialogue-heavy without a whole lot of action taking place. As the need to expel the information needed about the case, including why the various performers on and around the set could potentially be involved, as well as detailing the background scenes with their characterizations that need to be played out, this one is a bit longer to get going than it really should. It doesn't help much that this is where the killer strikes the least, with most of these scenes taking place off-camera and not being shown until the aftermath, only highlighting that even more, making for a somewhat tough way to get into this one. The other issue here is the action that plays out in the finale, where the reveal of the killer is fine, but allowing them to carry out their plan as far as they do is more due to stupidity, not recognizing the danger of the situation, than anything they pull off, so it goes on far longer than it realistically should. These are enough to keep this one down.

Overview: ***.5/5

An enjoyable if somewhat sluggish entry in the Krimi series, this one comes off quite well for the style, although its few flaws do keep it from the upper echelon in the series. Those with an interest in the style, who enjoy foreign horror from this time period, or are fans of the creative crew, will have a lot to like here, while most others out there might want to heed caution here.