Skip to main content

George Melies - The Haunted Castle (1897)

So my second film, well its a short film (50 sec.) is one of the first Horror films ever made. I'm not sure what makes it horror, there is a skeleton, but it doesn't scream Horror at me. I enjoyed this short it made me chuckle. I admit to not watching the original, as the copy that i have seen has been color tinted, it was the closest it have been to it.
The film starts out with our hero coming into a room where he goes through a quick battle with a ever changing chair. Acting in this film is horrendous, but its what you expect for a film that is over 110 years old. For a hardcore fan or someone that is ready to get their horror on, this short wouldn't be for you. But it is just amazing to see something that has been on film for so long.

This is definitely worth watching for some turn of the century special effects. On a scale it is really hard to place this short, 50 seconds is hard to evaluate. For a horror movie i would have to rate this a 2 out of 5. Comedy i would have to rate this a 4 out of 5.

Well tune in soon and i will have more reviews up

enjoy

Brandon!!!!

Comments

Anonymous said…
well it was in the 1800s so maybe back then seeing a skeleton was freaking scary!

Popular posts from this blog

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t...

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Tim Burton

Tim Burton's take on the old Sleepy Hollow tale is really interesting. He adds his own flair of course. He delves very deeply into the original story by Washington Irving. The casting is usual for Burton. Johnny Depp of course in your lead. Helena Bonham Carter, thrown in for some flavor. The score is done by Danny Elfman. It's literally just the Ichabod Crane story run through the Tim Burton machine. But in a good way. Sleepy Hollow has a problem with a guy, running around, taking people's heads. Like, a lot of people. The town sends word for assistance and the nervous  Constable Ichabod Crane reports. He starts to unravel clues that take him down an incredibly strange path. With the Horseman still murdering patrons, Crane tries finding who's next before they lose their head.  I've always been a big fan of the Disney cartoon,  The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad . This movie is a far cry from Bing Crosby and quaint animations....

Le Manoir du Diable (1896) - George Melies

According to Wikipedia in August of 2011, Le Manoir du diable by Georges Melies is the first horror movie. Well, actually its a short film (about three minuets or so) but film was really hard to come by in that time so this counts as a film to me. The plot of the film is basic, you have your hero being tormented by demonic things in a crazy castle room... However, that plot isn't what brought the crowds. The thing that drove the popularity of these films was the fact that you were seeing motion on screen. I suggest going and seeing Hugo. That film is spectacular. It answered so many questions that I had. It really sets the scene and the tone. The film has strong christian overtones and actually ends with Christianity prevailing over the "tides of darkness". I provided a link at the bottom of this review for anyone that would like to see this pioneer in Horror Film. The movie uses very, very early "movie magic" that is an abundance of smoke and m...