Les Vampires

Personally, I really like the concept of this film series. It consists of ten films, varying in length from fifteen minutes to an hour. The films were screened in 1915 and 1916 and it is evident that they are not something that would fade away. As a comic book enthusiast, I can confidently say that films like "Les Vampires" inspired adventure stories filled with villains, secret rooms and corridors, premeditated murders, and so on. After all, such references are often found in literature and are not missing even in comics like "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec" or "Tintin's Adventures". There are disguises, swap-outs, dark characters, far-fetched plots, and everything works absolutely perfectly. Yes, it can be somewhat grotesque and exaggerated at times, lacking a proper resolution, but when you see in the fifth film how the Vampires move among people who have all been rendered unconscious, there is something deeply unsettling about it. Humor and thriller merge here in a combination that is amazing. It's a pity that the format of full-length movies has become established, with them being an hour and a half or more. Shorter film series also have their charm. However, apparently we must standardize. What a shame. (27/01/2014)