Neues vom Hexer

Just because "Der Hexer" was so good and so entertaining, I decided to immediately watch the sequel, although with the knowledge and caution that sequels generally don't surpass the quality-level of the original, and that most of the surprises have been revealed already. Still, although remarkably less great as the first one, "Neues from Hexer" remains a solid Krimi with a different type of plot and a couple of fascinating new characters. One of them is the inevitable but always-fantastic Klaus Kinski, in a for him very familiar Krimi-role, namely that of a sinister and mysterious butler doing all the dirty work. For the first time, at least to my knowledge, Kinski has a beard that makes him look quite handsome!

Following his spectacular escape from Scotland Yard in the original, the now exposed Magician is forced to return to London because somebody is committing murders in his name. Scotland Yard inspector Wesby is on the case as well, but the master-criminal with his tricks and disguises, is much more effective in solving the murder puzzle than the "intelligence" services.

As said, weak in comparison to the first film but enjoyable enough as a stand-alone thriller. The best scene comes quite early in the film, when The Magician disguises himself as a judge in court, and basically raises all the smart questions that Scotland Yard should ask themselves.

Lord Curtain is murdered in his castle, allegedly by the RINGER (Rene DELTGEN) according to a business card left at the crime scene! The super criminal, who had long since gone into hiding in Australia after his adventures in the film THE MAGNIFICENT SORCERER, cannot let this happen. Together with his wife Cora Ann (Margot TROOGER) and butler Finch (Eddi ARENT), he sets out on his own to find the perpetrators. Meanwhile, the rest of Lord Curtain's family is also in danger. Margie Fielding (Barbara RÜTTING) and Lady Aston (Brigitte HORNEY) turn to Scotland Yard for help. Since Inspector Higgins is still on his well-deserved honeymoon, Sir John (Siegfried SCHÜRENBERG) promptly reactivates the Australian Inspector Wesby (Heinz DRACHE).

The RINGER once again delights with his many masks in the second part. But it also gets very scary. Basically, an entire family is to be wiped out out of selfish revenge. Other roles are played by Klaus KINSKI, Robert HOFFMANN, who still speaks in the strong Austrian dialect, and the later CINECITTA diva Gisela HAHN. Very impressive performances are given by Brigitte HORNEY, who gradually freed herself from her involvement in the UFA era of the National Socialists, and Barbara RÜTTING, who shone with a brunette Doris DAY hairstyle.

Director Alfred VOHRER was able to attract another 1.8 million viewers to West German cinemas. However, that was less than the previous film, which had sold 2.6 million tickets. Nevertheless, both RINGER films are among the highlights of the West German Edgar Wallace film series.

After the success of "Der Hexer", this sequel was shot 9 months later by the same director with mostly the same cast - unfortunately Joachim Fuchsberger did not return. Obviously, the sequel had another problem from the start: the first movie had revealed the secret identity of the "Hexer" in the end, so the possibility for a similar surprise was gone. Nevertheless, a solid story was put on celluloid here which makes it an average contribution to the Edgar Wallace series at least. The basic script idea is that the Hexer ("wizard") returns to England once again because murderers commit crimes under his name, so he wants to punish them and prove his innocence.

A well-known still from the advertising material shows Klaus Kinski (who plays Edwards, the butler) rising like a vampire in a coffin. It stems from a scene that originally was the opening sequence, but cut before the TV broadcast and video tape release. Still Kinski gets a couple of good scenes, watch him playing a harp for example! Brigitte Horney and Barbara Rütting are both giving strong performances as well, even though the most terrifying scene to get you on the edge of your seat is surely when the boy is locked in the tiger cage.

Or does he? Well of course he does, but he might have not even gotten involved if he was not provoked. An interesting twist to bring him back ... same actors, with some more depth, but also new villains ... which almost makes him a good guy ... well not really but you know what I mean.

Funny and for the time it was made quite good - yes it has aged but not too badly. I'd advise anyone to watch the original movie ... it is not actually necessary, but if you watch it reverse, you'd have a reveal ... well sort of ... still watch the first Hexer and then watch this. And if you like these movies ... there are hundreds of them out there (probably "only" 40 ... or whatever other number, but quite a lot nonetheless).