Dawn of the Dread

The first horror movie ever made was also the first IP-based global blockbuster

Woe unto you, wicked spirits! The witching season is upon Underexposed, and for the next two weeks, I’ll be diving into under-the-radar scary films - both new and old.

Today, we’re going way back. All the way back…

L’Inferno (1911)

Horror has haunted cinema from the very beginning.

In 1896, French director Georges Méliès, the special effects pioneer Terry Gilliam once hailed as the "First Great Magician of Cinema," released The House of the Devil (Le Manoir du Diable). At just three minutes long, it was the first supernatural story on screen.

Thirteen years later, across the Alps in Milan, three artists united to direct the first feature-length Italian film ever made. L’Inferno is a 73-minute, 100,000-lira epic inspired by the first cantica of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Unlike Méliès’ whimsical skeletons and rubber bats, L’Inferno shocked the world with its massive, surreal sets and gruesome full-tilt nightmare fuel: bodies torn limb from limb, towering winged demons, and even (gasp) full-frontal male nudity.

The film became an international sensation, grossing $2 million (a staggering $63 million today) at the U.S. box office alone. Not only was L’Inferno the first true blockbuster, it earned praise for making Dante’s epic “intelligible to the masses” and cemented cinema as a “seventh art” in Italy and beyond.

Last Wednesday, I ventured to the Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg for a special screening of L’Inferno, accompanied by a live score from Montopolis, an Austin-based group led by composer Justin Sherbern. As I shuffled into the packed theater and settled into my seat, Sherbern, draped in a spooky Franciscan frock, took his place at the keyboards. The screen flickered to life, and we were cast into the nine circles of Hell.

Under the direction of Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe De Liguoro, and Adolfo Padovan, L’Inferno was created at a time when the Vatican strictly forbade priests from entering movie theaters (the Church viewed cinema as a breeding ground for the lurid). But because the film was rooted in the religious themes of Dante’s masterwork, even the Papacy could not protest. The sacred source material allowed the film to bypass scrutiny, despite the film's graphic and unsettling imagery.

L’Inferno follows Virgil and Dante as they set forth across the river Acheron, into Hell. There, they encounter man-eating devils, pestering Furies, and lakes of boiling pitch. The effects are wildly impressive, even by modern standards. Hundreds of naked extras writhe in flaming lava. A condemned man carries his own severed head. Floating sinners twist on infernal winds.

Early cinema, much like the oral and performance traditions before it, drew on heroic tales and grand myths. It also marked the first steps toward modern storytelling by focusing on more intimate and complex moral and thematic arcs. L’Inferno stands as a landmark of cinema, and a precursor to the mega-blockbusters of today with its groundbreaking special effects and targeted publicity. 113 years later, it still has the power to transport, terrify, and captivate audiences across time.

Where To Watch L’Inferno

• Currently available for free on YouTube.

• For a higher-resolution experience, purchase it on DVD. It even comes with another groundbreaking early horror classic, Haxan (1922).

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News Reel

• Last weekend at the multiplex, the animated film The Wild Robot made an impressive $14 million in its third weekend, just a 25.9% drop. Is the bump in earnings an encouraging sign that audiences crave beautifully-crafted, original stories? Unfortunately, no. THR reports it was mainly the result of teens buying tickets in order to sneak into Terrifier 3. Still, it's heartwarming to know the timeless tradition of teens sneaking into movies is alive and well. While they’re at it, they might as well stay and watch The Wild Robot, because it’s fantastic. Seriously, go see it.

• “If something is really out there, people are interested,” Working Title co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner told a packed audience during a London Film Festival industry talk. Independent movies, they say, must be bolder and cheaper if they’re to cut through and help stabilize the business. I am here for this - as a film lover and a filmmaker. Bold producers, are you out there? Talk to me. I dare you. 

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An Underexposed Interview: Montopolis

Justin Sherburn of Montopolis was kind enough to answer a few questions about his live score for L’Inferno.

ARB: How did you discover the movie L'Inferno, and what was your process for creating the live score? 

JS: I’ve been wanting to score a horror film for awhile now, and when I came upon L’Inferno, I knew it was the one. It has  received less attention than Nosferatu or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, but I feel like it is a more entertaining movie. It’s fast paced and full of great sets and costumes, and it’s action packed! 

My score incorporates sounds from 80's goth to quotes from Rachmaninoff, and the movie is scary at times, but overall comes off as a little campy and just fun so this broad musical brush makes sense.  I was the house composer for a puppet theater group in Austin for many years that produced very dark and political dramas, so I had a lot of starting points in my back catalogue for L'Inferno.  I'm always stealing from myself.  I even incorporated a few choral pieces directly from my time with the puppets.  

ARB: What has your experience been performing alongside the movie?

JS: I love touring these silent films across the country. Art house theaters foster a unique subculture of intellectuals, film nerds, and generally smart and beautiful people that I like being around and learning from.  We meet cool people in every city, and they turn us on to new ideas/ movies/ music/ all the things.  The horror fans are in a league of their own.  I've had several folks come out for L'Inferno dressed as devils!   

ARB: What fun facts, if any, can you share about L'Inferno that you may have learned while creating the live score?

JS: I learned that Dante has a death mask that you can visit in Florence, Italy. Also L'Inferno was a blockbuster in its day and one of the first feature-length films. It gave theater owners an excuse to raise the ticket price to $1. Also there is one scene where the denizens of hell turn into lizards, and for whatever reason, that is the scene that gets an audible gasp / chuckle from the audience.  

Follow Montopolis on Instagram here.

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That’s all for this week’s free edition. Beyond the paywall, we’ve got a bonus segments Six Devilishly Good Movies and One More Fun Thing. Free subscribers, see you next Friday for more Halloween chills on Underexposed.

Six Devilishly Good Movies