Fantasmagorie

Fantasmagorie is a long, short-film (about 45 minutes) meant as a stylish homage to Dracula. A married couple is separated when the husband is called away on business. He meets strange country people before arriving at his destination. The husband's host is a strange man, who the husband eventually figures out is a vampire salivating over his guest's wife (Edith Scob from Eyes Without a Face) at home.

The film does not use much more than the opening of the Bram Stoker novel. Instead, it tries for a more nightmarish, dreamlike world (shot in an expressionistic style). The black and white photography conjures up some nice images. I particularly liked the scene where the husband finds his host's coffin. The ending was also nicely done.

However, the film has two noticeable weaknesses. The first is that the film is set in modern times. The Harker stand-in (he is not named) is planning to drive his car to his host's chateau. When it breaks down, he is met by a truck driven by one of the vampire's servants. The modern things seem out of place somehow. True, a balance of old world and new world can pay off (like in Blood for Dracula or in Count Yorga), but Fantasmagorie is less successful at balancing the two worlds, with the modern setting feeing more like a financial consideration rather than an aesthetic one.

The second problem is an overly talkative narrator. The film would have been more effective if it had been played with no dialogue whatsoever. This would have also made the film feel more like a film from the silent era.

Fantasmagorie is a decent homage. I enjoyed it somewhat. However, the film never rises above the level of an homage.