Les Vampires
Directed by Louis Feiullade
Written by Louis Feuillade
1915/France
Societe des Essablissements L. Gaumont
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Philippe Guérande: [writing] It is several months since we have heard about the Vampires. But can’t we see their crafty hands behind those recent sinister and mysterious headlines?
This early serial is a ton of fun.
Phillipe Guerande is an intrepid newspaper man on the trail of a sinister gang of thieves and assassins known as the Vampires. Truth be told, he operates more like a sleuth and is accompanied most of the time by his faithful and brave comic-relief sidekick Mazamette. The Vampires operate like a secret amoral Masonic lodge. Nothing is as it seems.
I liked this a whole lot. It combined the supernatural, the lurid, and the comic very neatly. I loved that this did not spend forever bringing the viewer up to date at the beginning of every episode. I viewed it over several days.
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