Harry Piel's Panik (1928) is just pure silent movie chaos

If you are in the mood to watch a man almost get mauled by a real lion for your entertainment, then Panik is probably worth your time. It is for the people who miss when movies were just guys doing dangerous stuff without a safety harness. If you need a plot that makes sense every single second, you are going to hate this one.

Harry Piel is the star here, and he basically directed it too. He was the German Tom Cruise way before Tom Cruise was even a thing. He has this very smug little smile every time he escapes a trap that makes you want to high-five him and roll your eyes at the same time.

The whole thing starts at a circus, which in 1920s movies is always a sign that everything is about to go wrong. It is not exactly Avatar in terms of the budget, but the stunts feel more real because, well, they actually were. There are no pixels here, just a guy and some very hungry-looking cats. 🦁

The movie is called Panik for a reason, I guess. When the animals get loose, the crowd goes absolutely nuts. I noticed this one guy in the background of the circus scene who is suposedly 'panicking' but he is actually just jogging in place and looking at the camera. It is those little mistakes that make these old films feel so human.

I kept thinking about how they didn't have health and safety laws back then. There is a lion in this movie that looks genuinely annoyed to be there. At one point, it swipes at a guy’s leg and you can see him jump for real. Ouch.

Harry Piel really loved his stunts. He jumps across a gap between two buildings that looks way too wide for a normal person. You can see the camera shake a bit when he lands, like the cameraman was scared he was going to fall. 🎥

The story involves a jewel theft or maybe a circus rivalry? Honestly, I lost track of the actual plot after the first fifteen minutes. It doesn't really matter when there are tigers on the loose and cars chasing horses.

The car chase is wildly intense for 1928. The horse actually looks faster than the car in a few shots. I wonder if the horse knew it was in a movie or if it was just running for its life.

Dary Holm is the lead lady and she spends most of the film looking like she is about to faint. I don't blame her. If I had to work with Harry Piel and a bunch of unchained predators, I would be nervous too.

The lighting in the indoor scenes is pretty bad, almost like they only had one lamp for the whole room. It makes everything look a bit spooky, which reminds me a bit of The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu. It adds a weird vibe to the whole thing that probably wasn't intentional.

I noticed an extra in the crowd who looks exactly like my uncle Bob. It was very distracting for about three minutes. He was just wearing this giant hat and pointing at a tiger.

The pacing is weird. It goes from 0 to 100 miles per hour, then stops for five minutes so people can talk in intertitles that seem way too long. One of the intertitles was spelled wrong in the version I watched, but maybe that is just how they did things back then.

It is definitely more exciting than Der Schloherr von Hohenstein. That one is a bit of a slog compared to this. Harry Piel doesn't let you get bored for long because he is always about to blow something up.

If you have seen Felix in Love, you know how charming these old silent films can be. This one is less about charm and more about adrenaline and questionable decisions.

The villain has a mustache that is almost too big for his face. It is so pointy it looks like it could pop a balloon. Every time he is on screen, I just stared at the mustache instead of listening to... well, reading the dialogue.

The ending feels like they just ran out of film. Harry wins, the girl is safe, and then it just cuts to black. No big wrap-up, no long goodbye. Just... done. 🏁

It is not as polished as Kiss Me Again, but it has way more lions. And in my book, more lions usually means a better time. It is a messy piece of history, but it is a fun one.

Watch it on a rainy afternoon when you don't want to think too hard. It is just a guy, some tigers, and a lot of chaos. What more do you really need? 🏃‍♂️