#1 1896: And Then There Was Horror

 

    The House of the Devil is just over three minutes.  It's a silent film that simply depicts Mephistopheles conjuring up spirits and pesky demonic minions to do his bidding, before being driven off by the power of the cross-wielding soldier.

    The important thing to talk about when we bring up this film isn't whether or not it's a good horror movie.  Obviously, if your stacking it up against the Exorcist or even Paranormal Activity, it's a lesser film in the sense that our capacity to make great horror films was quite limited.  The thing to think about here is the year it was made and who made it.

    Marie-Georges Jean Méliès was a French illusionist and stage performer who was discovering all kinds of technical innovations.  He used special effects like time-;apse, stop-motion, hand painted color on film, and various dissolves to get his desired results.

    His follow up films, A Trip to the Moon in 1902 and The Impossible Voyage are considered to be even more innovative in the use of "trick photography".

    But for now, the conversation is on The House of the Devil, because what started out as a way to facilitate a new kind of magic show, ended up being incredibly important for the soon-to-be film industry, plus... and then there was horror.

    The Viewing:  I recently watched Le Manoir du Diable for the first time and like I said, it's short (under four minutes).  The length of the film at the time was a really big deal.  It was longer than many and probably costly.  Thomas Edison had produced a 38 second clip called The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, in which a tied up Queen Mary is led to a block, only to have the executioner cut off her head.  Film was new and exciting, and 38 seconds was a good run of celluloid.  Three minutes was news worthy.

    Anyway, due to its age and the fact that it's a silent oldie, there's a certain atmosphere to the film.  Of course, there's all sorts of slap-sticky, overly theatrical pantomiming going on and that adds humor and comedy to the whole production.

    Overall, I was excited to see the film.  It's a piece of cinematic history and the fact that it exists at all is a treasure.

Film:  Le Manoir du Diable (FR); The House of the Devil (translation); The Haunted Castle (US); The Devil's Castle (UK)

Release Date:  December 24th, 1896

Director:  Georges Méliès

Producer:  Georges Méliès