Essential Cult Cinema Drawn from the Same DNA as Les Vampires: Cult...

Dir: Louis Feuillade

The Vampires do not give up their attempts on the life of Philip Guard even after he is married. The wife of the janitor who was accidentally poisoned by wine meant for Philip's wedding is now in Philip's employ. She is anxious to avenge her husband's death, and consults a fortune teller. The fortune teller is a Vampire. By hypnotizing her visitor, the woman influences her to open the door of Philip's home to the Vampires. Normandin has fallen in love with Augustine, and has followed her to the fortune teller. She will not reveal the reason for her visit and he watches her day and night. It is this vigilance which finally rewards him by finding the Vampires descend on Philip's home. The Vampires are put to flight when they are discovered trying to asphyxiate Philip and his wife. While Philip and Normandin go for the police, Augustine and Jane, Philip's wife, are kidnapped and carried to a house in the suburbs. Normandin, pursuing the automobile, fires a shot that punctures the lubricating oil tank. This drips, leaving a trail which Normandin follows slowly but successfully on a bicycle. Philip and Normandin find that Jane and Augustine are kept prisoners in a cellar of the house. Philip leaves his revolver with his wife while he and Normandin go for the police. The official raiding party arrives while the marriage of Irma Vep and Venenos is being celebrated. Every exit is watched, and the police break in upon the Vampires. All are killed or captured, but a count shows that Irma Vep is missing. She has secured a revolver dropped by a policeman and hurried to the cellar to be revenged upon Jane and Augustine for the death of her companions. Jane, however, defends herself by shooting Irma, who drops at the feet of Normandin and Philip who have also hurried to the cellar. Thus the last Vampire is accounted for, and Philip has freed France of the terrible criminal menace. Normandin marries Augustine, and the two pair live happily ever after.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Judex perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A twelve-part serial following the adventures of the masked vigilante Judex as he fights against criminals led by the corrupt banker Favrauxom.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

The press as well as the general public opinion suggest that Inspector Juve may in fact be Fantômas, the very criminal mastermind he tries to capture. But as Juve is imprisoned, the actual Fantômas schemes to keep him behind bars forever.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Fantomas: The Mysterious Finger Print perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A cine-roman following the fates of a Portuguese nobleman, a Carmelite nun, and a mysterious lookalike.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

Satanas, having committed suicide in prison, Venenos becomes the head of the Vampires. He learns that Philip is engaged to be married and orders Irma Vep to take an apartment in the same building and watch the girl. Irma learns that the betrothal dinner is soon to be celebrated. Venenos is advised and tells the caterer that the dinner has been postponed one day. The Vampires impersonate the caterer and his assistants. They poison the wine, and the janitor, who has been given some, drinks it and dies. His wife rushes into the banquet just in time to save the guests, who are about to drink to Philip and the girl. The Vampires switch off the lights and escape. Philip writes in code to his fiancée and tells her to go with her mother to a villa at Chailly. Irma Vep, accompanied by her maid, lies in wait for the limousine. It arrives with a wardrobe trunk strapped upright on the running board. Irma is at work spraying the interior of the automobile with a powerful anesthetic when Normandin steps out of the trunk. The women overpower him and Irma hides in the trunk. On arrival at Chailly, Irma telephones to Venenos, and is afterward captured by Philip Guard, who is soon joined by Normandin, who has escaped from the Vampires. Venenos rescues Irma and the pair escape in an automobile and escapes as the men continue after Venenos, who jumps from a bridge to a moving train and elude Philip and Normandin.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Parisette perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Movie serial "Vendemiaire" depicts a registering nationalist and regionalism concerns about the effects of the First World War.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Vampires: The Poisoner perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Inspector Juve is tasked to capture the infamous criminal genius Fantômas who, ruthless and particularly elusive, changes his appearance and holds Paris' high society in a crippling grasp.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

Is a continuation of the film series "Judex" the masked fighter for justice.

Dir: Louis Feuillade

Jacques d'Athys, a French adventurer, returns to his home in Nice after an expedition to Indochina where he has picked up a Eurasian fiancée and a book that, unbeknownst to him, contains a coded message revealing the whereabouts of both secret treasures and sensitive government intelligence. This makes him the target of foreign spies, including a Marquise of mysterious Latin origin, a Hindu hypnotist and an evil German doctor, who will stop at nothing to obtain the book.