Uma Noite Terrível

Eerily reminiscent of that time I was woken up in the middle of the night by a spider crawling on my face, Georges Méliès' 1-minute-long, 127-year-old short film only diverges from my own terrifying real-life experience in that its protagonist decides to go ape on his arachnid intruder whereas I opted for a more gentle catch-and-release approach (and maybe, just maybe, cured my fear in the process). Although 'A Terrible Night (1896)' is old enough to be impressive almost by default, its simple story and workmanlike execution is far from the most inspired effort from its pioneering filmmaker. There's nothing necessarily wrong with it, per se, but it just isn't all that enjoyable and it genuinely feels as though it's lacking some sort of final twist. Still, it's a solid effort from one of cinema's most important auteurs. I'd say it's worth a watch just to see if it connects with you more than it connects with me; after all, it'll only cost you a minute of your life.

A man in turn of the century bed clothes is trying to sleep. Unfortunately, a giant insect crawls up the side of his bed (it's about the size of a cat). He engages the thing and loses any hope of sleeping, even though he neutralizes the beast. There is some decent comedic stuff and it is fairly satisfying and silly.

It was all very amusing and didn't wear out its welcome. I hate spiders, too.

A gentleman's sleep is interrupted by a giant bedbug (?), resulting in a comic battle. Unusual for the auteur, there is no 'trick photography', just an early mechanical effect featuring an over-sized insect. There's not much to the film beyond a brief laugh and its historical place in the canon (as an antecedent to 'Them' (1954) etc.). Remade by Méliès as 'Un Bon Lit' in 1900.

Terrible Night, A (1986)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

aka Une Nuit terrible

Very funny film from Melies has a man in bed trying to go to sleep when a large bug (perhaps a spider) walks over him so the man has to battle it. This is a very funny short, which lasts just a minute but most of that time you'll find yourself laughing. The ways the man tries to kill the bugs changes from one bug to the next and they keep getting funnier. That weird, fantasy like world of the director is certainly on display here and fans of the man will certainly want to check this one out.