The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog

One of Hitchcock's earliest films. It's the first silent film I see of him and it's no surprise that I liked it quite a bit better than his talkies. I'll gladly admit that the lovely restoration helped, but the much stronger focus on mood and presentation over narrative gives this film a clear edge over his other work.

A mysterious avenger is putting fear into Londoners, as he has already made seven victims. Daisy is a young, blond model who is the girlfriend of the detective (Joe) investigating the case. Daisy's mom is renting out a room to a mysterious stranger, who slowly works his way into Daisy's favor. Joe doesn't trust the man for obvious reasons.

The intertitles were surprisingly fun, the restoration was slick and the more modern score added a bit of flair. But it's the fact that this is a silent film, which prevents characters from being over-talkative, that puts it above most of Hitchcock's other films. It's still pretty basic, but at least it was an easy watch.