The only goal here is to freak out the audience as much as the hapless and helpless characters here: three people traveling stop at a cabin that in this particular moment has a demonic-supernatural entity running roughshod. They three characters go in and all kinds of madness happens to them: their clothes become alive when they take off their coats and hats; the table with all the food becomes animated and a knife cuts salami by itself; the entire cabin ends up rocking back and forth like the demon is playing a roll of dice with the thing. This is an extraordinary little silent short that seems like one of those templates for many horror movies to come (Evil Dead comes to mind through the animation and the sort of constant f***ery that the thing is doing to the characters). I also love the freakish look of the beast and how seamless the effects were; logically I know how the tricks were done in camera, through cuts that happen without any jarring feeling. I don't know if it's meant to be knock-off Melies, but if it is it's a knockout besides. It keeps moving, it has actual terror for its characters, and if you put on some good heavy metal it adds a little extra kick watching it on youtube.
Review of The House of Ghosts
