Film movement that emerged in Germany before World War II and reached its peak in the 1920s, which used distortion and exaggeration as a means of transforming the physical world into a reflection of the inner self. Plots and themes of the films were often dark in nature, with an emphasis on long, dark shadows, unnatural spaces in compositions, stylized acting, and dream sequences. Notable films of this movement are "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," and "Nosferatu."
