Quick recap: Cue the Sad Trombone or Happiness Flute, depending on your preference, but this movie did not in fact contain any vampires. There is a group of villains who do all of their schemes at night though. The ‘movie’ is actually 10 episodes built around Investigator Philipe Guerande and his friend Mazamette. Each part has the criminals plotting something and then Guerande and Mazamette catch them in some way, usually without realizing it.

Fun (?) Fact: This is considered to be one of the longest movies ever made, clocking in at roughly 6 1/2 hours. I dispute this because when it was released in theaters, it was broken up into episodes over a year. It’s more of a mini series than a movie you would watch all at once.

My thoughts: Although it took me over a year to finish Les Vampires, I really enjoyed it for several reasons. First of all, there were some surprisingly violent scenes and an interesting mystery. I could see how later thriller movies evolved from this film. I imagine audiences at the time loved it as well. Secondly, if you are looking for a stereotypical silent movie, this is it. The deaths are long and drawn out, the actors talk for a long time and then the cue cards show one or two words to sum it up and the music guides you. Last reason Les Vampires was interesting:

Irma Vep

Irma Vep is one of the main villains and Musidora, who plays her, does the job perfectly. She is calculating and heartless and so smart. I was genuinely surprised how she is not portrayed as some woman caught up in the mess, but perfectly capable of handling herself.

Final Review: 4/5 If it wasn’t so long, I would totally give it a 5. Episodes are all different lengths so just jump in and watch when you have time.

Where I watched it: http://www.archive.org as well as Youtube