6. Georges Melies - The House of the Devil (1896)
A somewhat forgotten movie, The House of the Devil should be MUCH more well-known to horror fans. Melies' classic 3.5 minute film is considered the first horror movie ever produced. Melies is also considered the first science fiction movie director for A Trip to the Moon, but it is his early horror work where Melies truly shines. Starring Melies in the title role, The House of the Devil takes us through Satan's torture of a young aristocrat. Released in 1896, the roughly 3.25 minute film features many classic horror motifs - a bat that turns into Mephistopheles (played by Melies), a skeleton, witches with brooms, a bubbling cauldron, an Igor-like toady, ghosts (in white sheets, no less), and the use of a crucifix to ward off evil. To some degree even the movie industry's portrayal of Satan in human form can be traced back to the appearance of Melies, who had a beard that came to a point just below his chin and a prominent, chevron mustache with turned up ends. Modern horror owes a lot to Melies. Melies is probably the only actor to star as Mephistopheles in multiple movies. He wrote, directed, and starred (as the Devil) in The Sign of the Cross (1899), The Cake-Walk Infernal (1903), The Infernal Boiling Pot (1903), Satan in Prison (1907), and The 400 Tricks of the Devil (1906). Pretty Impressive. Buy the Melies DVD collection or find these movies on the internet and watch them! You can start with
The House of the Devil.
Weird or Wonderful? - Both. Fans of horror cinema owe a lot to this man and his portrayal of Satan.