[4] The film is an adaptation of Heinz Strunk's eponymous novel and tells the story of the German serial killer Fritz Honka who murdered four women between 1970 and 1975 and hid their body parts in his apartment.

The Golden Glove is named after the pub in the red-light district of Hamburg where the disfigured alcoholic Honka met his victims.

[5] In 1970, alcoholic night watchman Fritz Honka murders Gertraud Bräuer, a prostitute, in his squalid Hamburg apartment.

The next day however, Fritz allows her to stay in exchange for sex and housework, as well as a signed contract of being introduced to her attractive daughter, Rosi.

Now consistently sober, he takes up a night shift as a watchman at an office complex, where he meets cleaner Helga Denningsen, whom he finds attractive.

Its consensus reads, "Grim to a fault, The Golden Glove embarks on a well-crafted but deeply unsavory descent into the depraved mind and rank brutality of a serial killer.

"[14] Carlos Aguilar of The Los Angeles Times echoed this sentiment, stating that Akin pushed the film's repulsiveness to its limits, depicting little psychological substance.

[15] Ben Sachs from The Chicago Reader called it "virtually unwatchable", panning the film's soundtrack, imagery, and brutal violence.

[17] Conversely, Spleeny Dotson of Starburst Magazine gave it six out of ten stars, commending the film for effectively capturing "the bleak hopelessness of the seamy side of the 1970s," as well as the makeup design and Dassler's performance.

Dotson however, criticized the film's brutal violence as "repetitive and predictable" as well as its failure to explain the reason behind Honka's killings.

[18] Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro rated it a score of four and a half out of five, calling it "a marvel of technical filmmaking", praising the film for its editing, production design, makeup effects and Akin's direction.