A review by episodes:
Episode 1 - The Severed Head (6/10) Not an incredibly strong start to the series, though it's not without intrigue and menace. A reporter who has been investigating an organization called Les Vampires goes out to a chateau to see about the death of an inspector who was decapitated by the same group. As a fair warning, despite the name and a rather iconic image that appears in episode 2, there are no actual vampires or Dracula-type characters in this series. If you were expecting that, you might find the cat burglar character we see in this first episode rather disappointing. A rich American woman has her jewels stolen in the night by a sleek man in black via hidden passageways, you see. The thief seen gingerly walking along the roof and shimmying down a railing was frankly a bit of a letdown, even knowing that he was just a taste of things to come. The plot thickens when the severed head is recovered and further murders are committed, whereupon the first episode ends. It's probably unfair to review this 33 minute short in isolation (kind of like reviewing a single chapter of a book), and I fully expect the series to get better as it goes along.
Episode 2 - The Ring that Kills (8/10) The image of Marfa (Stacia Napierkowska) in that black bodysuit, slowly spreading her bat wings back while on tiptoe, surely has to rate among the silent era's best. And gosh, a justice of the Supreme Court involved in clandestine, corrupt activities with a mysterious shadow organization, hmmm who would have thought that was possible? This installment is short and sweet at just 15 minutes, but the murder onstage and introduction into the lair of Les Vampires are wonderful.
Episode 3 - The Red Cryptogram (7/10) Pretty cool to see the Irma Vep character (Musidora) and the special effects, 1915-style, rearranging the letters to spell Vampire. She was of course the reference for the 1996 film with Maggie Cheung. The criminal organization that Philippe Guérande (Édouard Mathé) is up against is pretty sinister, with poisoned ink that kills within seconds after skin contact (something that would make Vladimir Putin proud), and resorting to attacks at home and kidnapping. It's a little slow-moving at 39 minutes for such a simple episode, but the groundwork continues to be laid for an entertaining series. The traitor to Les Vampires, Mazamette (Marcel Lévesque) and strong mother character (Delphine Renot) are nice touches too.
Episode 4 - The Spectre (8/10) The story to this episode relies on an enormously convenient coincidence - the leader of a separate crime ring who has just taken an apartment next to Irma Vep is the same guy who happens across the dead body of Les Vampires' latest victim - but there is enough ominous subterfuge afoot that I didn't mind. A guy is murdered with a hatpin and thrown off a train, for goodness sake, how cool is that for 1916. Operating in disguise is a recurring theme here - Irma acts as the secretary in a bank, Philippe Guérande shows up as a handyman, and the new criminal (Fernand Hermann) dresses up as the murder victim so convincingly that he appears as a "spectre" to Irma. There are two moments when the audience sees people laying in wait and getting close to battle, which must have been thrilling at the time, and still carries a certain amount of tension today. Fleeing down a manhole cover, getting access to a safe from a false real panel, and sneaking into a house with the aid of an accomplice - the slinking around here is fantastic, creating a world where good and evil fight as cat and mice, and nothing can be trusted. There's a nice little split screen action as well. It's great stuff, and does the most important thing in telling the larger story - makes me want to keep watching more episodes.
Episode 5 - The Corpse's Escape (8/10) It was clever to continue the thread of the rival gang to Les Vampires, the one led by Moréno, as it added an extra dimension to this already very entertaining series. It created double peril for Philippe Guérande, with Les Vampires capturing him spectacularly off his 2nd story balcony by using a loop connected to a long pole, and Moréno capturing him just as wonderfully when Guérande calls over to two cops and discovers to his chagrin that they are Moréno's cronies in disguise. Having two warring gangs also created opportunity for Guérande, however, ala "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." It's a triangle where each party is battling the other two, with the gangs robbing from each other and eluding capture, but also not quite able to kill off Guérande.
In one of my favorite scenes, a crowd of socialites is gassed at a party, a moment that predates what you might see from the villains in Batman. As they all clamor to get out but find the windows boarded up and doors locked, we're treated to a slow raised tracking shot, one which shows a marble bust looking impassively on as the arms of the victims flail away. That was brilliant. There are lots of other little things here - good ol' Mazamette making a rubber mold of a lock to create a key, a large basket containing our hero falling down a long staircase, and of course, the fake cyanide tablet that results in the "corpse" rising at night to strangle the guard. Fantastic stuff, and a great episode.
Episode 6 - Hypnotic Eyes (8/10) Irma Vep (Musidora) is so cute with her short hair disguised as a young man, and of course in that black skintight outfit prowling around. In this episode, enter a pair of Americans on the run with $200,000 that they've stolen, which the two rival gangs, led by Moréno and the Grand Vampire, are hot on the trail for. Little do they realize that they've been beaten to the punch by Guérande and his sidekick Mazamette. Of the three horses in this race, you might say that Guérande comes in first, Moréno in second by virtue of kidnapping Irma Vep, and Les Vampires in last, losing out on the money, Irma, and yet another thing in a surprising finale.
The hypnosis bit from Moréno, first performed on his maid (Mlle Maxa), was a wonderful touch, and I loved how he fell in love with Irma Vep once she was in his possession - and then used her for his nefarious purposes. The only off note was the killing of a couple of bulls in the recounted story from the Napoleonic era, which was needless narratively and cruel besides (one of the bulls gives chase to a rider on a horse before being brutally tripped by what looks like barbed wire, another is just lounging in a field before meeting its end). Despite the bad taste that left in my mouth, I really enjoyed this one, as apart from the maneuverings between the three parties, it showed just how varied these episodes were, and how spontaneous the storytelling could be.
Episode 7 - Satanas (8/10) Episode 7 starts with a rather astonishing intertitle that tells us that Irma Vep has not only been enslaved through the hypnotic powers of Moréno, but he's also made her his mistress, which I guess is shorthand for "sex slave." It's also pretty surprising that the Grand Master of the Vampires who was killed at the end of episode 6 has remained dead - but no worries, it turns out he was a subordinate to someone even higher - Satanas (Louis Leubas), a diabolical name if ever there was one. This guy shows up at Moréno's place knowing about the murder and pricking Moréno with a secret pin strapped to his palm, one that paralyzes him for five minutes. Just to make sure Moréno understands he's up against a superior power, later, at the press of a button, a high-tech cannon wheels out of a hidden door and he uses it to blow up a nightclub, which results in Moréno and Irma Vep meekly returning to the fold of Les Vampires.
The cannon is quite a contrast to the teeny (and funny) guns that are bandied about throughout this series. In another use of technology, a clever ruse is devised whereby Irma Vep gets an American millionaire to speak into a portable sound recorder (uttering the only French phrase he knows, which is "Paris has the most charming women.") He's also unwittingly signed over a bank order, and the scheme used against him - with Irma Vep posing as a bespectacled switchboard operator - reminded me of clever heist movies from decades later. It was also a treat to see Irma in a bohemian outfit, wearing many strands of pearls and one across her forehead. She's such a delight.
The episode may lag a bit as the crime and its aftermath plays out, but it had built up enough equity with me that I didn't mind. There's lots of other nice little bits - a body in a crate dumped in the river from a bridge, the two cabaret dancers at the Joyeux Cagibi (the 'Happy Hideaway') trying but usually failing to stay in sync, the kidnapping of an innocent woman as she shrieks and struggles, and the cops using a trapdoor and giant sack to capture Moréno and Irma Vep instead of just surrounding them (lol). It's all very entertaining, and impressive for 1916.
Episode 8 - The Thunder Master (8/10) At the outset of episode 8, Irma Vep has been sent to prison, while Moréno has been executed by guillotine, which was dramatic even if it was only alluded to. As Irma is about to be shipped off to the French penal colony in Algeria, she gets the secret message that the ship carrying her will be blown up. We see the letters rearrange with the special effects of the day (in what seemed like a tough anagram!) and invisible ink revealed with the heat of the receiver's breath. Soon afterwards, we see the Grand Vampire Satanas bring his fancy cannon out in a hotel room (hey, it's portable too!) and proceed to fire upon the prison transport. Did Irma survive?
Episode 9 - The Poison Man (7/10) A slight step down in the series which really hit its stride in about episode 4, but entertaining nonetheless.
Episode 10 - The Bloody Wedding (6/10) At an even 60 minutes this is the longest episode, and there was not enough content. Out of room, thanks for reading this far.
Episode 1 - The Severed Head (6/10) Not an incredibly strong start to the series, though it's not without intrigue and menace. A reporter who has been investigating an organization called Les Vampires goes out to a chateau to see about the death of an inspector who was decapitated by the same group. As a fair warning, despite the name and a rather iconic image that appears in episode 2, there are no actual vampires or Dracula-type characters in this series. If you were expecting that, you might find the cat burglar character we see in this first episode rather disappointing. A rich American woman has her jewels stolen in the night by a sleek man in black via hidden passageways, you see. The thief seen gingerly walking along the roof and shimmying down a railing was frankly a bit of a letdown, even knowing that he was just a taste of things to come. The plot thickens when the severed head is recovered and further murders are committed, whereupon the first episode ends. It's probably unfair to review this 33 minute short in isolation (kind of like reviewing a single chapter of a book), and I fully expect the series to get better as it goes along.
Episode 2 - The Ring that Kills (8/10) The image of Marfa (Stacia Napierkowska) in that black bodysuit, slowly spreading her bat wings back while on tiptoe, surely has to rate among the silent era's best. And gosh, a justice of the Supreme Court involved in clandestine, corrupt activities with a mysterious shadow organization, hmmm who would have thought that was possible? This installment is short and sweet at just 15 minutes, but the murder onstage and introduction into the lair of Les Vampires are wonderful.
Episode 3 - The Red Cryptogram (7/10) Pretty cool to see the Irma Vep character (Musidora) and the special effects, 1915-style, rearranging the letters to spell Vampire. She was of course the reference for the 1996 film with Maggie Cheung. The criminal organization that Philippe Guérande (Édouard Mathé) is up against is pretty sinister, with poisoned ink that kills within seconds after skin contact (something that would make Vladimir Putin proud), and resorting to attacks at home and kidnapping. It's a little slow-moving at 39 minutes for such a simple episode, but the groundwork continues to be laid for an entertaining series. The traitor to Les Vampires, Mazamette (Marcel Lévesque) and strong mother character (Delphine Renot) are nice touches too.
Episode 4 - The Spectre (8/10) The story to this episode relies on an enormously convenient coincidence - the leader of a separate crime ring who has just taken an apartment next to Irma Vep is the same guy who happens across the dead body of Les Vampires' latest victim - but there is enough ominous subterfuge afoot that I didn't mind. A guy is murdered with a hatpin and thrown off a train, for goodness sake, how cool is that for 1916. Operating in disguise is a recurring theme here - Irma acts as the secretary in a bank, Philippe Guérande shows up as a handyman, and the new criminal (Fernand Hermann) dresses up as the murder victim so convincingly that he appears as a "spectre" to Irma. There are two moments when the audience sees people laying in wait and getting close to battle, which must have been thrilling at the time, and still carries a certain amount of tension today. Fleeing down a manhole cover, getting access to a safe from a false real panel, and sneaking into a house with the aid of an accomplice - the slinking around here is fantastic, creating a world where good and evil fight as cat and mice, and nothing can be trusted. There's a nice little split screen action as well. It's great stuff, and does the most important thing in telling the larger story - makes me want to keep watching more episodes.
Episode 5 - The Corpse's Escape (8/10) It was clever to continue the thread of the rival gang to Les Vampires, the one led by Moréno, as it added an extra dimension to this already very entertaining series. It created double peril for Philippe Guérande, with Les Vampires capturing him spectacularly off his 2nd story balcony by using a loop connected to a long pole, and Moréno capturing him just as wonderfully when Guérande calls over to two cops and discovers to his chagrin that they are Moréno's cronies in disguise. Having two warring gangs also created opportunity for Guérande, however, ala "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." It's a triangle where each party is battling the other two, with the gangs robbing from each other and eluding capture, but also not quite able to kill off Guérande.
In one of my favorite scenes, a crowd of socialites is gassed at a party, a moment that predates what you might see from the villains in Batman. As they all clamor to get out but find the windows boarded up and doors locked, we're treated to a slow raised tracking shot, one which shows a marble bust looking impassively on as the arms of the victims flail away. That was brilliant. There are lots of other little things here - good ol' Mazamette making a rubber mold of a lock to create a key, a large basket containing our hero falling down a long staircase, and of course, the fake cyanide tablet that results in the "corpse" rising at night to strangle the guard. Fantastic stuff, and a great episode.
Episode 6 - Hypnotic Eyes (8/10) Irma Vep (Musidora) is so cute with her short hair disguised as a young man, and of course in that black skintight outfit prowling around. In this episode, enter a pair of Americans on the run with $200,000 that they've stolen, which the two rival gangs, led by Moréno and the Grand Vampire, are hot on the trail for. Little do they realize that they've been beaten to the punch by Guérande and his sidekick Mazamette. Of the three horses in this race, you might say that Guérande comes in first, Moréno in second by virtue of kidnapping Irma Vep, and Les Vampires in last, losing out on the money, Irma, and yet another thing in a surprising finale.
The hypnosis bit from Moréno, first performed on his maid (Mlle Maxa), was a wonderful touch, and I loved how he fell in love with Irma Vep once she was in his possession - and then used her for his nefarious purposes. The only off note was the killing of a couple of bulls in the recounted story from the Napoleonic era, which was needless narratively and cruel besides (one of the bulls gives chase to a rider on a horse before being brutally tripped by what looks like barbed wire, another is just lounging in a field before meeting its end). Despite the bad taste that left in my mouth, I really enjoyed this one, as apart from the maneuverings between the three parties, it showed just how varied these episodes were, and how spontaneous the storytelling could be.
Episode 7 - Satanas (8/10) Episode 7 starts with a rather astonishing intertitle that tells us that Irma Vep has not only been enslaved through the hypnotic powers of Moréno, but he's also made her his mistress, which I guess is shorthand for "sex slave." It's also pretty surprising that the Grand Master of the Vampires who was killed at the end of episode 6 has remained dead - but no worries, it turns out he was a subordinate to someone even higher - Satanas (Louis Leubas), a diabolical name if ever there was one. This guy shows up at Moréno's place knowing about the murder and pricking Moréno with a secret pin strapped to his palm, one that paralyzes him for five minutes. Just to make sure Moréno understands he's up against a superior power, later, at the press of a button, a high-tech cannon wheels out of a hidden door and he uses it to blow up a nightclub, which results in Moréno and Irma Vep meekly returning to the fold of Les Vampires.
The cannon is quite a contrast to the teeny (and funny) guns that are bandied about throughout this series. In another use of technology, a clever ruse is devised whereby Irma Vep gets an American millionaire to speak into a portable sound recorder (uttering the only French phrase he knows, which is "Paris has the most charming women.") He's also unwittingly signed over a bank order, and the scheme used against him - with Irma Vep posing as a bespectacled switchboard operator - reminded me of clever heist movies from decades later. It was also a treat to see Irma in a bohemian outfit, wearing many strands of pearls and one across her forehead. She's such a delight.
The episode may lag a bit as the crime and its aftermath plays out, but it had built up enough equity with me that I didn't mind. There's lots of other nice little bits - a body in a crate dumped in the river from a bridge, the two cabaret dancers at the Joyeux Cagibi (the 'Happy Hideaway') trying but usually failing to stay in sync, the kidnapping of an innocent woman as she shrieks and struggles, and the cops using a trapdoor and giant sack to capture Moréno and Irma Vep instead of just surrounding them (lol). It's all very entertaining, and impressive for 1916.
Episode 8 - The Thunder Master (8/10) At the outset of episode 8, Irma Vep has been sent to prison, while Moréno has been executed by guillotine, which was dramatic even if it was only alluded to. As Irma is about to be shipped off to the French penal colony in Algeria, she gets the secret message that the ship carrying her will be blown up. We see the letters rearrange with the special effects of the day (in what seemed like a tough anagram!) and invisible ink revealed with the heat of the receiver's breath. Soon afterwards, we see the Grand Vampire Satanas bring his fancy cannon out in a hotel room (hey, it's portable too!) and proceed to fire upon the prison transport. Did Irma survive?
Episode 9 - The Poison Man (7/10) A slight step down in the series which really hit its stride in about episode 4, but entertaining nonetheless.
Episode 10 - The Bloody Wedding (6/10) At an even 60 minutes this is the longest episode, and there was not enough content. Out of room, thanks for reading this far.