The Haunted House (1896)
The Haunted House Review
The Haunted House is an 1896 silent short film directed by George Melies. It is such a groundbreaking film.
This is the kind of film that seems miraculous to have been made in the 19th century. Watching it was fascinating. George Melies truly is a master of special effects and I couldn’t believe that even in his earlier years he managed to successfully create them. The film is interesting for possibly being the first horror picture ever and although that is disputed as not being initially intended to scare, I disagree and I would definitely classify it as a horror film.
The film’s weakness is that it is a bit repetitive at times and not particularly varied in its effects. But most of the plot points and the effects worked with the highlights being the bat which was just awesome and those ghostly figures multiplying near the end were fantastic. Most of these effects are obviously achieved by film editing, but it is still mostly well executed and the fact that the director successfully did this back in 1896 just further proves how hugely talented he was. The film is definitely intriguing and atmospheric and I can clearly see audiences of its time being frightened by it.
