George Méliès – ‘Le Manoir du diable’ – First Known Horror Movie

George Méliès was a French illusionist and film maker, best known to be the first creator of horror films. He was very good with special effects which then led him to accidently invention the ‘stop trick’ in 1896. The first portrayal of horror including the supernatural, was introduced in several silent film clips which were created by George Méliès in the 1890s. The best known creation of his is the short clip names ‘Le Manoir du diable’, which is well known to be the first horror film. In 1898, Méliès then created ‘Le Caverne Maudite’.

‘Le Manoir du diable’ is a short black and white film which is also known as ‘The Hunted Castle’. At the beginning of the film, a bat flies into a large, old, medieval castle and does a lap of the room before changing into Mephistopheles. This was the first portrayal of a connection between bats and horror. The devil then produces an old looking cauldron and someone who helps him create a woman. Following this, the room is cleared and then two cavaliers enter who are soon ‘haunted’ by the assistant. After a while of fighting, we then see the reappearance of the bat. The reoccurring motif allows the audience to connect the previous part of the short clip together and allow them to try and predict what could happen next. This is a good use of the ‘hook’ technique to get the audience interested, and allow them to make a connection between the bat and the devil. After a fight between the women and the cavaliers, the women disappear and you see one of the cavaliers hold a cross towards Mephistopheles. This cross was the first time you see evil being defeated and, due to the fact that religion was a big influence in destroying evil, it allowed the audience to understand what the man was trying to do and the significant difference between the good and the bad characters. The mise-en-scene portrayal of the costumes used helps to stereotype the difference in the characters due to the colour of their clothing. The devil is shown to be wearing dark clothing thus signifying evil, and the cavaliers are in light clothing, thus signifying them to be good characters.