French auteur Georges Melies is the chap behind this excellent early offering of ghoulish shenanigans and stunts, some eighty years before the genre became popular in the likes of EVIL DEAD 2! THE BLACK DEVIL is a film without sound that lasts for only a few minutes, but it's nevertheless a thoroughly entertaining effort filled with camera tricks that still impress to this day.
With minimal setup involved, THE BLACK DEVIL charts the misadventures of a man and a demon in a hotel room and is filled with mischievous humour and a nice twist ending. The effects may seem obvious now but I still thoroughly admired them, especially the multiplying chair scene which was fantastic. Kudos to the main actor, who somehow manages to retain his position while the camera is stopped, and the props moved before resuming, and also to the room-high leap that concludes the affair – an early stuntman effort, I think.
With minimal setup involved, THE BLACK DEVIL charts the misadventures of a man and a demon in a hotel room and is filled with mischievous humour and a nice twist ending. The effects may seem obvious now but I still thoroughly admired them, especially the multiplying chair scene which was fantastic. Kudos to the main actor, who somehow manages to retain his position while the camera is stopped, and the props moved before resuming, and also to the room-high leap that concludes the affair – an early stuntman effort, I think.