Martha

Stark, brutal melodrama about an odd, child-like woman's marriage to a sadist. Fassbinder shreds the genre down to its barest, most hyper stylized level with a sparser use of music and a simpler colour palette than usual, giving its grotesque hysteria an uncomfortable tension.

a modern vampire story with very conscious visual language

One of Fassbinder's most visually stunning films, if also a bit one-dimensional (not that conventional psychological realism was ever really Fassbinder's thing to begin with) albeit unnervingly effective enough to counteract the simplicity of the characterization. Works as both a comedy and a horror film, as well as both an example of and, in my opinion at least, convincing argument against Fassbinder's alleged misogyny (of course a less morally divisive filmmaker would be far less interesting).

. . . - Full Review

This is my wife's favorite movie.

In one of Fassbinder's most tragic movies, Martha is driven by her Electra complex into a highly abusive marriage. Very Fassbinderian and has an awesome final shot.

faslighting. genres should include 'comedy', it'd be too much for me if it wasn't. just started laughing again reading the top quote on IMDB: Helmut Salomon: [after forcing his wife to read an obscure book on dam technology and listen to his favorite music] See, Martha? Those things can be fun.

This film is oppressive in its unpleasantness. Where's the quaint Douglas Sirk melodrama that I was promised?

Somehow entertaining and incredibly depressing all at once.

At times you almost want to call this a dark comedy, but it's so relentlessly bleak and demented the laughs are few and far between.