Horror Movie Project

D.W. Griffith brings us the longest running horror movie to date (1909). It is less horror and more tragic as the movie is probably one of the first “Horror” movies to actually tug on your heart strings a bit. This is also a movie that proves that there are other directors out there not just George Melies. The story is simple enough, we have a king who has constructed a “Pleasure Room” for himself and his concubine. But alas, this concubine is not faithful and she goes ahead and screws around with the court troubadour. The king, heartbroken and sad, commands his masons to seal the concubine and her lover in this “Pleasure Room” the two embrace as the oxygen is depleted and die in each others arms. What do i think of this? Well, D.W. Griffith is no George Melies, but he does make a valiant effort to shove Edgar Allan Poe’s vision into this 11 min. short. Extravagant costumes and a larger budget mean a more creative and fun story. The downsides are the vacant title cards and dial

Here we are kiddos with another short from George Melies. This one is entitled The Infernal Boiling Pot. We open with two demons boiling women, suddenly the women's ghosts emerge from the boiling pot and dance above the demon's head. What we have here is nothing more than experiments on film conducted by George Melies. This isn't the first Melies short that i have reviewed (ex. The Haunted Castle) but this one really shows his ingenious with using the camera. Costumes, Special Effects, and of course Set Design, show us just how dedicated a director like himself is to experimenting with film. This is in the beginning stages of film and its amazing what this director accomplished. Its fun to watch these shorts and follow the directors path of learning. Its really hard to review something that is so short. I would have to say go to YouTube, plug in these short films, make up a margarita and sit back and relax. Enjoy these little gems from the beginning of film.

L‘auberge Ensorcelée is another jump into the experiments in film. Georges Méliès jumped into this one just after his first “horror” film Le Manoir du Diable. This short shows a man that is staying at a haunted hotel that is constantly harassing our hero. Think of this film as a family friendly and extremely short version of 1408. The movie has a very usual equation. There is one person who is being tormented to show the different use of effects during the time. The man just becomes extremely frustrated instead of scared and the whole thing plays out more like a comedy then an actual horror movie. The jokes or “scary-scenes” are more campy than jumpy. There are various articles disappearing and reappearing. There is a pair of boots that walk on their own. There is a bed that disappears completely. However, this is all just done to showcase the “Jump Cut” and use of magnets in film. Georges Méliès plays himself in the film, again. S!D