Listed near the beginning of the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I was fooled by the image of woman with dark eyes and teeth showing into thinking this was an early silent horror film, made before Nosferatu, but I still liked it even though it wasn't. Basically it is a six hour thirty-nine minute serial, a long film split into ten parts, The Severed Head, The Killer Ring, The Red Cypher, The Ghost, The Escaping Dead Man, The Hypnotic Gaze, Satanas, The Thunder Lord, The Poisoner and Bloody Wedding. It all revolves around an intrepid reporter and his loyal friend doing a little investigation, but mainly a society of criminals called The Vampires. The gang of criminals are led by Le Grand Vampire (Jean Aymé), and one of the most well known members is fake stage actress and Femme Fetale, Irma Vep (Musidora), her name is an anagram of the word "vampire". Memorable moments in the serial include a few bodies carried on back, Irma Vep dressed as a bat, a box with a head in it (maybe Se7en was inspired), chases on rooftops, Irma Vep in the back skintight catsuit doing her dirty work, the swapping of the back costumes and the sleeping bodies, amongst other things. Also starring Édouard Mathé as Philippe Guérande, Marcel Lévesque as Oscar Mazamette, Fernand Herrmann as Juan-José Moréno, Stacia Napierkowska as Marfa Koutiloff and Renée Carl as L'Andalouse. As one of the earliest ever French silent films, this is an impressive picture that relies solely on the actors and their facial expressions, some writing, and quite a bit of action, including a little stunt work, and it does all add up to an interesting must see. Very good!
Review of Les vampires
