Nos Domínios de Satã

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.

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.

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.

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.