Day 1: M

It’s the first day of Sham Shocktober so you’ll have to forgive any factual inaccuracies this month, as I’ll only be “reviewing” horror films I haven’t seen. And don’t forget to let me know if the movies any good or not so I’ll know which ones to buy for Halloween. (Hey, that rhymed... I’m a poet and I didn’t realize it!) Anyway, let’s kick off with a classic: Fritz Lang’s 1931 chiller, M.

Dame Judi Dench stars as M, a child-molesting serial killer stalking the streets of an unnamed, highly expressionistic German city. From what I gather, the only clue to M’s identity is his whistled signature tune – “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” by the Crash Test Dummies. Can the police catch him, or will it be left to the city’s other criminals to implement their own form of justice? What are you asking me for? I haven’t the fucking foggiest. But, since M is at #44 in the IMDb Top 250, I’m guessing it’s a pretty good film. So good, in fact, that its influence continues to be felt in contemporary culture over 70 years later, from the ongoing prevalence of child molestation, to the rumour that respected character actor M. Emmet Walsh was so impressed by the film he actually named himself after it. Lucky for him he wasn’t a big fan of C.H.U.D. huh?