Seven Footprints to Satan

Fans of David Fincher and his film 'The Game' might want to get a hold of this very loony silent film. The director is best known for HAXAN which was released in America as the William Burroughs narrated WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES. When a wealthy young man prepares to embark on a foolish hunting trip to Africa, he and his fiance are abducted and taken to a very bizarre house. The house is ruled by the mysterious Satan, and our hero finds that he will have to brave many a strange situation (often involving a midget) before he can find his loved one.

In the 1920s and early 30s in the realm of mystery/horror/comedies Benjamin Christensen may have been the greatest director working in them. He directed a trilogy of mystery/horror films that not only define the genre, but his talents.

Paul Leni and Roland West may have been the only directors as talented as him working on these types of films at the time, but in terms of the quality of the image, the composition, the framing and the mise-en-scene, he surpasses even them. Each had their own specialty, though; Leni-set design; West-special camera effects.

His previous film, 'The Haunted House' (1928) was at the time hailed as his best of these. It may be the greatest 'lost' horror film in terms of artistic merit. He then made 'Footprints' and 'House of Horror' in 1929. Only 'Footprints' seems to have survived to this day.

The only version of this film that seems to be available is an Italian title-carded version of which I viewed a copy. Luckily for me, I had someone translating Italian for me (my sister) so I could figure out what was going on. I still felt like I was missing something, so I watched it again.

Upon second viewing, and having known the plot, I was able to view the real story of this film - the movement of images, the magnificent cutting and the chiaroscuro - still excellent in this worn print. This film actually seems to be about movement rather than a plot. The camera does not move much, but it does in key spots. The interplay and blocking of the characters is outstanding and is seamlessly edited to create a truly visceral experience.

The constant parade of gorillas, dwarfs, madmen, and wenches that our hero (Creighton Hale) experiences is exhaustive. Christensen takes us as our designer and guide in this nearly literal carnival ride through the 'house of Satan'. Some of the horror images are as amazing as you will see from the 1920s!

Sadly, since this film is finally available, after being believed lost for many years, it has garnered no attention. Perhaps because it is an exercise by Christensen, and not a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece like Haxan, no one is as interested. Perhaps the ending, which may disappoint many, is the reason. Or maybe because it is only in Italian? It is certainly not the filmmaker's fault.

Christensen, like Rex Ingram was very painterly. However, even more than Ingram, Christensen had really mastered the editing of his 'painted' images and has created something here that deserves much attention from silent film scholars and fans. If not for his lack of a moving camera, he was as skilled and as talented as almost any director in the 1920s. 'Footprints' is an artistic gem that deserves more attention from silent and horror film fans.

For years "Seven Footprints to Satan" has been considered a lost film. Often it was mentioned in magazines like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND with mysterious photos that only titillated film collectors and horror buffs who had heard stories, but had never seen the film.

A little background on the film: the film was shot silent, but during the transition to sound, was given a music and sound effects track, and a talkie end sequence was shot. Of two extant prints, the one that has been bootlegged is a silent print made for foreign release with Italian intertitles.

The basic story is about James Kirkham and his girlfriend Eve being kidnapped to an old dark house involving jewel thieves and a cult led by "Satan". I won't give too much away, just review in general.

The film starts off very atmospheric, with the editing done so that when you think one thing is occurring, it's really something else. The whole theme of the film is very early art deco, and it is a pleasure to see Sol Polito's master camera-work, even if it is ravaged by the hands of time.

The film in style is not unlike Christensen's other film, HAXAN(1922), with bizarre orgies, scantily clothed women, bizarre characters and obtuse sets that overshadow characters at times. The whole atmosphere of the movie is a low key sort of insanity, and even with the wide sets seems claustrophobic.

The acting is a little over the top at times, but generally due to pantomime that was not uncommon of silent films of that period. Creighton Hale doesn't seem very heroic, more like a scared schoolboy, and Thelma Todd can't make up her mind if she's the heroine or the damsel in distress. Sheldon Lewis, Sojin, and Angelo Rossitto all have memorable characters in the movie, and add to Christensen's bizarre world of "Satan", the hooded villain of the film.

The ending really crashes the picture into a brick wall, but overall the movie is worth a viewing, though not the classic everyone expected(or at least, not myself).

I don't expect much to offend anyone in this film of today's audience, but definitely not for squares. There's very little violence, and what is is pretty stagy. There is a scene where a gorilla attacks a naked woman in chains, but there is no nudity and the violence is off screen and implied. The story line is rather complicated, and the Italian intertitles don't help, so it's probably not something for children. People who enjoy Christensen films, Tod Browning films, old dark house mysteries, and/or silent era/early films will enjoy this movie.

My rating 6/10. Has good sets, lighting and camera-work, and a decent story, which fails to come full circle and the acting is a little edgy.

Visually, this movie is dazzling, but as a narrative, it is the ultimate proof that no matter how many crazy events and dramatic turns you throw into a movie, you need good characters and good pacing to make it work. SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN is plain tiresome after the twenty minute mark. At first, the craziness and kinky overtones are amusing, but it gets old when it's pushed nonstop in your face without a quiet moment or an active protagonist.

Seven Footprints to Satan (1929)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Very good and creepy film from director Benjamin Christensen about a couple (Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale) who are kidnapped and taken to an old dark house ran by Satan. Inside the house the two are terrorized by a dwarf (Angelo Rossitto of Freaks fame), a gorilla, an ape man like creature and other weirdos. The atmosphere of this film is so incredibly thick that you'll actually feel as if you're walking among all of these characters. There are several creepy moments as the couple walk around this house, which just has one weird room after another. The film isn't as great as the director's Haxan but it's still among the best of its genre. The set design is terrific and the editing is among some of the best I've seen from this period. You easy to see that this film influenced Universal's Dracula, Paramount's Island of Lost Souls and some of the orgy scene from Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut appears to have been influenced by this film.