Synopsis: A traveler stays the night at a rural inn, but gets no rest as he is tormented by various spectres and mysterious happenings.

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Here at Codex Mortis, we generally review only feature-length movies, not shorts or series. But in light of the often-brief nature of the oldest cinematic treasures, we make an exception for movies released before 1920.

Calamity Brains:

The Haunted Hotel has the spirit of a kid’s Halloween movie; it’s more slapstick than scares. The visitor at the inn (Paul Panzer) is dressed like Abe Lincoln and frequently mugs to the camera. He generally seems more bewildered than frightened by the ghostly happenings around him. It’s lighthearted, or mostly so – at least until the end.

This little piece is a really fun example of the creative ways filmmakers used to accomplish various effects. Some of director J. Stuart Blackton’s methods behind the spooky effects are immediately obvious to a modern audience, but others take a little more wondering. There’s a clever mix of practical and special effects to accomplish the ghostly visitations, and the end result is quite entertaining.

Calamity Brains’ Rating: B+
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