Review of The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris (1915) by Richard L — 01 Jan 2015

A crime thriller about a gang of no-gooders in France and the reporter trying to bring them to justice. Of course, they take his interest personally, so for nearly seven hours they attempt to murder him, his mother, his finance, and other people in his life.

Les Vampires is considered a masterpiece because it influenced so many directors in the years that followed, including those of the German Expressionist movement and later work in American horror, gangster, crime thriller and film noir. By modern standards, the basics are here, including basic camera work like the occasional pan and fixing the camera to a moving platform like a car. In the earlier episodes of this 10-part serial, the acting is restrained; things get more dramatic by the end. I enjoyed the earlier parts the best, mostly because they were compact and generally under 30-minutes. The later parts that stretched to nearly an hour became tedious, so I had to watch them over several nights. One of the problems is that the plot becomes increasingly dependent on fantastic elements, including science fiction and hypnotism.

The acting is, well, hard to judge, but seemed fine especially in the earlier chapters. Comic relieve was provided by the character Oscar-Cloud Mazamette and his tiny son, Eustache Mazamette. Édouard Mathé as the "crack newspaper writer" Philipe Guérande was generally mild-mannered, except for moments of humor and slapstick with Mazamette. The various Grand Vampires (the gang leaders) were sufficiently evil.

The standout, of course, was Musidora as the femme fatale Irma Vep. Diabolical and seemingly indestructible, she vamps her way through the events and apparently became a fan favorite.

One downside of many silent films restored for modern audiences is the music, and Les Vampires is no different. I heard two different versions of music, one that was monotonous and another that was too busy and electronic.