7.2/10
Senior Film Conservator

A definitive 7.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Mad Love remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like movies where the villain is just a guy with a bad haircut and a worse personality, yes. It's a short, punchy 68 minutes. If you need logic or medical realism, look elsewhere. You'll probably hate it if you can't stand old movies that move at a slightly different pace than today's ADHD-fueled cinema.
Peter Lorre. My god, the man could do more with his eyes than most actors can do with a whole script. He plays Dr. Gogol, and he is just uncomfortably obsessed with Yvonne Orlac. You can feel the sweat in the room every time he looks at her. It’s gross, but you can’t look away.
The whole plot hinges on a train crash. It happens fast. Then the surgery happens, and suddenly the pianist husband has the hands of a killer who loved throwing knives. It’s ridiculous, but the movie plays it so straight that I found myself nodding along like, yeah, sure, that’s a thing that happens in Paris.
There’s a moment where the husband, played by Colin Clive, realizes he can throw knives perfectly. He doesn't even look surprised. He just goes with it. I feel like if I suddenly had a murderer's hands, I’d be a bit more concerned about my career prospects.