Sette passi verso Satana

This is an old-dark-house movie. A young couple creep around a weird mansion said to be run by Satan, where they run from and into one after another of an ill-assorted crew: a lady in distress, an ape, an ape-man, a midget, various odd-looking people, and (for some reason) two Chinese. They end up in a throne room where the hero is required to play a "Price Is Right" sort of contest involving a climb up seven steps with seven illuminated footprints; hence the title. For my taste it's too much of the same thing. The creeping around fun-house corridors is amusing for a while, then becomes repetitive. By comparison with Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton or Laurel and Hardy doing the same bit in two reels, it isn't truly funny. It's not frightening either, and apparently wasn't intended to be: the household is too absurd. Most films in this genre balance the comedy with a genuine threat, and usually two--one that the characters are led to believe is real, and another for which it's a cover. Here the cover isn't to be taken seriously, and neither is what covered. A few moments of fun emerge from the mix, but it's rather heavy fun. The novel on which the film was based was a straight thriller and I think could have been played straight to better effect--and still could be.

A young man longing for adventure end up in the middle of a robbery and trapped in castle like home where some very strange people are wandering about. It all builds as all the "old dark house" conventions are played up to the max before it ends in a manner that is both logically right and completely wrong. I dare not say anything else since this is such fun to watch.

Benjamin Christensen's Seven Footprints to Satan was thought lost for years. During that time it gained a reputation as one of the great films. Thankfully the re-emergence of an Italian titled print proves that Christensen had indeed made what is probably one of the greatest "old dark house" thrillers ever made.

This movie is a blast. There are hooded villains, sliding panels, dwarfs,half humans, gorillas, weirdly shaped people and a sense of fun lacking from many movies of this type. Its a damn near perfect blueprint of how to make a movie like this. The film is also an absolute masterpiece of the directors art. I've never/rarely seen a film that is such a marriage of image and story with camera moves that pure genius. This is a film to study if you want to see how to make a movie.

The movie as it stands has two problems. First the title cards are in Italian, which makes watching it difficult if you don't read the language. I don't. Only after reading a synopsis of the entire plot was I able to really enjoy the madness that was going on on screen. The other problem is that this film is silent. I had always thought it was purely a silent film, however the entries on IMDb and my watching of the film make me think that perhaps part of this was indeed sound. There are sequences that contain a great deal of on screen talking and very little titling which lead me to think there once was more to this film than there is now.

See this movie. This is a masterpiece. Its also a lot of fun.

Now if someone like Criterion or Kino could get their hands on this and set about restoring it we'd all be so much richer.

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.

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.

THE STORY & GENRE -- Satanic cult kidnaps rich young man and his girl, bringing them to a house of chaos and weirdness, including menacing gorilla, helpful dwarf, and strange "wolf-man." Is it genre? Watch and see!

THE VERDICT -- This is brisk film-making, with many interesting moments and motives. To say anymore would spoil what I consider to be a great ending. Sheldon Lewis, who previously played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), is wonderful as "The Spider." Wow, Laska Winter! Thelma Todd!

FREE ONLINE -- Two versions. (1) 59-minute silent Italian print, with excellent picture, and at times with English translation of the intertitles, (2) 76-minute silent "restored" version by Serial Squadron, with actually a terrible picture but much more of it, haha, and English intertitles.