The Spiders

Director: Fritz Lang
Year Released: 1919
Rating: 2.0

Parts one and two of a projected four-part serial by Lang about an adventurer who fights off sacrifice-obsessed Incas and Asians with swords to save girls and recover lost stones shaped like Buddha (it's a man's world, what can I say?). Though important historically - and no doubt a treat for Lang aficionados - it's corny and weak dramatically, at least when compared to Louis Feuillade's brilliant Les Vampires, which came earlier. In fact, the title criminals of this series remind me of the "vampires" in Feuillade's film, who sometimes dressed in all black and were able to get anywhere very quickly.