Alraune is a 1928 German silent science fiction horror film directed by Henrik Galeen and starring Brigitte Helm in which a prostitute is artificially inseminated with the semen of a hanged man.

A wealthy Professor specializing in genetics is ambitious to conduct an experiment with a woman of "low social status", by impregnating her with a mandrake.

Meanwhile, on learning about the experiment, the Professor's nephew Franz is appalled and warns his uncle about the consequences of violating the laws of nature.

After months of searching, the Professor tracks Alraune to a circus, where she is performing as the magician's assistant but also flirting with the lion tamer.

Alraune's affluent lifestyle has depleted the Professor's finances, and he asks her to join him at a gambling table, believing the legend that mandrakes give good luck.

Brigitte Helm reprised the Alraune role again two years later when director Richard Oswald remade the film (with sound) in 1930.

[2] From contemporary reviews In 1928, C. Hooper Trask of The New York Times wrote, "if you like this sort of thing you'll find it a superior product.

"[3] A review credited to "Trask" in Variety stated that Galeen "squeezes all the horror juice out of [Ewers story], and Brigitte Helm, the vamp, is at least 200 percent."

"[4] From retrospective reviews, Troy Howarth noted that Brigitte Helm's performance in the film was "one of the most genuinely erotic of its time" and that Galeen should be "admired for approaching the material in such an adult and sophisticated manner....Alraune is, after his The Student of Prague (1926), easily his most impressive feature as director".