'The House Of Ghosts (1906)' (listed as 1906 here, 1907 on 'Letterboxd' and 1908 on 'YouTube', where I watched it) is also known as 'The Haunted House' or 'The Enchanted House' and is apparently often misattributed as being the lost film 'The Haunted Hotel (1906)' (also known as 'The Haunted House'). Confused yet? I suppose confusion is to be expected here; the precise history of a film from over a hundred years ago is bound to be a little hard to come by, especially when that film has so many titles. Anyway, this affair is considered by many to be one of the very first examples of a haunted house in cinema, though the concept had obviously been readily explored in literature by this time. It tells the tale of a trio of travellers (two of whom have very strange heads) who come across an abandoned house and decide to rest there, unaware of the ghosts within. Its most impressive sequence is undoubtedly one in which a poltergeist prepares breakfast - consisting of sliced sausage, bread and either tea or coffee - in splendid stop-motion style. It's a wonderful little scene that's integrated into the live-action elements surprisingly well, with fluid animation that feels believable despite its unreality. The rest of the picture makes use of more standard, yet still impressive, special effects; ghosts appear in windows, sheeted spirits dance around, objects vanish without a trace and the room itself tilts and spins with glee. It's an energetic and action-packed short, for sure. It isn't even close to scary and its atmosphere is more manic than anything else, but it feels as though it's actively trying to be amusing so its lack of horror doesn't really matter. It's much more of a predecessor to something like 'Evil Dead II (1987)' than anything more serious. In the end, this is an entertaining affair that is undeniably a little dated but is still impressive considering its post-centennial status. It's enjoyable for what it is. 7/10.
Review of The House of Ghosts
