Silent Movies – The Scare Salon

Silent Movie Watchalong: The Phantom Carriage (1921)

November 29, 2022

Not too long ago on this series, we watched the Swedish-Danish witchcraft classic Häxan, and today we’re continuing the Swede theme with the spooky 1921 drama The Phantom Carriage (known in Swedish as Körkarlen), directed by and starring Victor Sjöström. This is really a beautiful film, with innovative ghost effects for the day and a surprisingly modern narrative structure, … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Phantom Carriage (1921)

Silent Movie Watchalong: Häxan

November 15, 2022

The 1922 Swedish-Danish co-production Häxan, known in English as The Witches or Witchcraft Through the Ages, is structured in four parts, and was actually conceived as a documentary. Writer/director Benjamin Christensen had done a two-year study of the infamous Malleus Maleficarum, and sought to bring his knowledge to new audiences. For that reason, the first part of the film (comprising … More Silent Movie Watchalong: Häxan

Silent Movie Watchalong: Begotten (1989)

October 25, 2022

Welcome back to Silent Movie Watchalong! Even though this series is relatively scant, I’m already changing things up a tad, so I hope none of y’all mind. Yes, this is still a silent film I’m discussing, but it isn’t from the sanctioned “silent film era.” Rather, it’s a notorious experimental film from 1989 called Begotten, directed … More Silent Movie Watchalong: Begotten (1989)

Movies: Vampyr (1932)

October 21, 2022

1932’s Vampyr is one of those movies that I always felt like I needed to get around to seeing, as it was one that often came up on lists of most influential horror films, as well as lists of influential horror films that were still underseen and underrated. While I’ll admit that it’s much less … More Movies: Vampyr (1932)

Silent Movie Watchalong: The Red Spectre (1907)

October 11, 2022

Released in France in 1907, The Red Spectre was directed by Segundo de Chomón and is one of the few surviving examples of early-twentieth-century “trick” films. It’s only ten minutes long and doesn’t have a “plot” per se, but I gotta admit, for 1907, this thing looks fucking amazing. How is it in color, Jenny? You may … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Red Spectre (1907)

Silent Movie Watchalong: The Haunted Castle (1896)

August 30, 2022

Released in 1896 (!!!), directed by the über-famous George Méliès, and considered the first horror film ever made (even though it’s more funny than scary), The Haunted Castle (French title Le Manoir du diable, ooh la la) was a massive influence on early horror films, particularly the German expressionist classics and the subsequent Universal films in the 1930’s. … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Haunted Castle (1896)

Silent Movie Watchalong: The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)

July 26, 2022

Welcome to the latest installment of Silent Movie Watchalong! I’m doing a short one this time, but really, it shouldn’t matter much because this one is just excellent, and I’m sort of baffled at how it doesn’t get as much attention as some of the other films of the period. Clocking in at a little … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)

Silent Movie Watchalong: The Hands of Orlac (1924)

July 19, 2022

Time for another silent movie watchalong! Our film today is a classic one, the 1924 Austrian film The Hands of Orlac, directed by Robert Wiene, starring Conrad Veidt (who also starred in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Man Who Laughs, incidentally), and based on a book by Maurice Renard. Not only is it wonderful and properly eerie, … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Hands of Orlac (1924)

Silent Movie Watchalong: The Sealed Room (1909)

July 12, 2022

It’s time for another scintillating installment of Silent Movie Watchalong, kiddos! Today I’m going to be discussing the eleven-minute D.W. Griffith film The Sealed Room from 1909, which as you might imagine bears a slight resemblance to the Poe story “The Cask of Amontillado,” as well as the works of Honoré de Balzac. It also stars Mary … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Sealed Room (1909)

Silent Movie Watchalong: The Portrait (1915)

July 4, 2022

Здравствуйте, everybody! Why in the ever-loving Блядь have I reverted to Google-translate Russian, you ask? Well, it’s because today I have decided to watch a Russian film from 1915 called The Portrait (or Портрет, if you prefer). The only remaining fragment of this film is a bit over eight minutes long, but in its original form, it … More Silent Movie Watchalong: The Portrait (1915)