Fury of the Demon (2016)
Drew Tinnin
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Starring Alexandre Aja, Christophe Gans, Jean-Jacques Bernard, Dave Alexander, Pauline Méliès
Written and directed by Fabien Delage
Screening at the first annual Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Fury of the Demon travels back through time to the turn of the 20th century, when film as a medium was as mysterious and magical as the stars themselves. In the cinematic space we now occupy, it’s easy to forget the sense of wonder that accompanied the earliest films, such as the sensational Lumiére short The Arrival of the Train at La Ciotat Station that caused viewers to run out of the theater in sheer terror because they thought an actual train was barreling down towards them.
No one, however, is as legendary as director George Méliés, the iconic director and master of visual effects who is most famous for his hauntingly hypnotic film A Trip to the Moon. The well-executed mockumentary Fury of the Demon delves into the mystery of a lost film by Méliés of the same name that, when screened, reportedly drove audiences to madness before the film was lost forever.
Through the eyes of actual historians, critics, and directors such as Alexandre Aja, the effectively contrived legend surrounding the fictional lost film, Fury of the Demon, slowly builds until wishful thinking actually leads you to want to see this faux film at an actual film festival.
Beginning with one eccentric enthusiast who uncovers the film and shows it to a rapturous festival audience in the new millennium, frightened witnesses are interviewed describing the feeling of madness that swept over them as the crowd began to become unhinged. Following the trail back through the 20th century, other instances are found where Fury of the Demon was at the center of bizarre events, leading some to believe the film is actually cursed.
There’s a great sense of mystery that develops through the short, hour-long running time buttressed on the fact that so much of Méliés’ work was copied and duplicated during a time when film copyright was in limbo. Méliés was never a wealthy man although he was intensely famous during his era. With so many other filmmakers copying what Méliés created, Fury of the Demon invents a fun fictional narrative of another macabre artist who may have made the infamous film.
Not only does Fury of the Demon work as a great made-for-TV documentary with lots of intrigue, it highlights the inherent horror elements of Méliés work and invites the viewer to track down his films and fall down the rabbit hole. As it stands, Fury of the Demon documents a time when movie magic was much more frightening and otherworldly. It’s a time worth traveling back to.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
