"Murnau only worked in cinema for a short time, but he was immensely prolific and had already directed nine films before "Nosferatu" premiered, most of which are now considered lost. "Schloss Vogelöd"... is the earliest surviving of the director's works from that period, and seems to promise an interesting proto-expressionistic sketch of the ground-breaking shadow land of nightmares and dreams conjured up only a year later in "Nosferatu" and "Phantom" (1922). At a sprightly 82 minutes and broken up into five short acts, this mystery story, based on a German novel of the period by Rudolf Stratz, shows a skilled filmmaker still working very much within the set parameters of the day, but occasionally coming up with amazing shots or essaying hesitant, early versions of striking ideas that would later find their full flowering and be transformed in other, more innovative films from later in his career." - Black Gloves, Horrorview.com