Review by Michael_Elliott

Dante's Inferno (1924)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A meanspirted, heartless father begins reading Dante's Inferno and is soon visited by a demon who shows him what hell is like. Will the father be scared into changing his ways? The father aspect of this is clearly lifted from A Christmas Carol but it works fairly neatly but the real aspect are all the scenes in Hell, which I guess the filmmakers used to make sure people knew they didn't want to go there. It's very easy to see why this thing was so controversial back in the day and it still could have the power to creep people out. Hell is broken down into various rooms and the torture depends on the reason you were sent there. Most memorable are the murderers who are thrown on top of one another with razors so that they will be cut each time they move. The demon that haunts those who commit suicide is another memorable aspect. The print I watched was in horrid shape and didn't have a soundtrack so with the proper elements I'd probably give this a full four stars. I think this was the fifth version of the book.