Run Time: 6 minutes. Studio: Pathé Frères. Director: Segundo de Chomón.
It is October once again and that means it is time to watch spooky themed films. One of my favorite types of spooky films is the haunted house flick. This sub-genre has been around since cinema was young. This month we take a look at one of the earliest haunted house flicks, a 1908 French classic, The Haunted House.
Being only six minutes, the storyline here is very basic. Three friends are taking a trip together and decide to rest at an abandoned house, not knowing that the house is haunted.
Like much cinema from this time period the narrative simplicity and brief running time are a part of this film's charm. Sometimes it is simply fun to watch something that is simple and directly to the point. And if you want to watch a haunted house movie, this film provides exactly that. This film puts our characters in that haunted house right away and soon after creepy stuff is already happening. Despite being a haunted house film, the main point here is not to scare you. Instead, it is to delight you with a flux of pure imagination. Much of the haunting comes from stop motion animation and camera tricks. There is a real playfulness to how these are executed that I find irresistible. It feels like everyone involved was having a great time making this and that feeling translates to the audience.
Despite its age many of the visuals hold up quite well. The opening outdoor scene as well as our first view of the house (from the outside) are simply lovely to look at and quite atmospheric. While the special effect can seem simplistic compared to those of today, they still get the job done and are fun to watch. The demon (if that is what he is supposed to be) looks fantastic and I simply love his costume. The final scene offers wonderful horror movie visuals that are as fun and creative as anything modern horror filmmakers could come up with.
If you want to watch this delightful film, you can do so below.
No comments:
Post a Comment