The Devil’s Castle, from 1896 is considered to be the first horror movie. At a bit over three minutes long, it’s not a hard watch despite being a silent film. One thing that today’s viewers should keep in mind when watching is that the audiences of the day had no concept of special effects because films were such a new medium. So the transformations you see here, while extremely crude, would have been genuinely shocking to the audiences watching this film.
And when you’re done laughing at that, here’s an early silent horror film that lives up to it’s name. If you haven’t seen the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), you’re in for a twisted piece of German expressionism that you won’t soon forget!
And finally, here’s a movie that haunted my young dreams for years. That staircase scene still gives me chills, 1922’s Nosferatu!
Happy Halloween!
Rob
