YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Le spectre rouge" or "The Red Spectre" is a French silent film from 1907, so this one has its 110th anniversary and it is a collaboration between Segundo de Chomón and Ferdinand Zecca, two of the greats from the early days of film, even if their names don't mean anything to most people today. It's their loss as these two were highly prolific and successful back in the day. And there work here looks spectacular in terms of effects, costumes and even colors. The red referenced in the title was nothing short of amazing and this movie was certainly far ahead of its time. But that is also a problem because the medium was not yet ready for the minds of SdC and Zecca and the evidence are these 9 minutes here. Without the use of sound or at least intertitles, it is virtually impossible to understand even very basically what was going on. Such a shame as this little film looked so good. But story trumps everything and that's why eventually I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

He_who_lurks Before I go into this film, I would like to point out that it and another film by the same person entitled "Satan at Play" appear to be one and the same, though I haven't seen the latter. Still, IMDb gives both titles a page, and both titles have reviews written on them. Also, two colored prints of this film are floating around YouTube: one with a purplish grotto, and another with a milder, brownish tint which I've seen.Now to the film. It's about a mysterious spectre who puts on a diabolical magic show. Many of these tricks are something you'd see Melies doing years before, although one scene uses a closeup, which you don't see in Melies's work. There is also a subplot of one spirit constantly trying to spoil his fun, and in the end destroying him.For 1907 this was actually a full-length feature, at 10 whole minutes long. The beginning is entirely tinted red, but later other colors come into play. The demon's makeup is really quite beautiful and ghastly, and the sets are pretty good. The main problem is that the pacing is off. In Melies's work you're treated to one trick after another, but here there's lots of set-up and it does drag. That said, I would agree with those who say that while watching it it's as though you have entered another world, because it's visually astounding and has some excellent tricks. Even despite lack of story this is a very nice watch.

punishmentpark I must say I had expected more of this, though I did quite enjoy myself. I came across a version without music, but I'm sure it's not intended that way, so I chose some Spanish guitar songs from Pepe Romero to play as soundtrack, and it sufficed for the greater part.The 'story' was pretty hard to follow, although all there seems to be going on is a horned reaper / magician performing his black arts on some harmless, innocent women (but are they ever...?), but in the end he meets his demise through one of them.It's full of visual playfulness and ingenuity that makes it quite pleasing to the eye, though I had expected a little more in terms of different settings and such.Still, this is very much up my alley. 8 out of 10.

Red-Barracuda The Red Spectre is a trick film from France in the style of Georges Méliès; although this one was directed by Ferdinand Zecca. It has all of the visual invention you would expect and it also has a nice red coloured tint which is perfect for its atmosphere.It's set in an underground cavern and features a demon warlock. This evil character possesses souls of several women. He manipulates them in several ways and generates television-like screens. All the while he is counterbalanced by a female nemesis that thwarts his evil actions and ultimately destroys him.It may be a short film but it's full to the brim with visual ideas. Characters appear and disappear, are shrunken and burst into flames. Walls are constructed and turn into giant monitors and rock faces move aside to show a cavern full of hell-like fires. It's relentlessly inventive basically. Worth seeing if you like the visual innovation of the earliest days of cinema.