Spooktober 7: Macite In Hell (1926)

 

This silent Italian horror is a pairing of two very popular tropes in early Italian cinema: Dante's Inferno and the classical hero. It's narrative story is pure Dante, with the titular character of Maciste inserted (not unlike some of the Universal monster mash-ups of the 1940's). Maciste all'Inferno, (Maciste in Hell) was released in it's native Italy in March of 1926, after being held up by censors for it's depiction of demons and demonic imagery, and truly horrifying image passages of of the devil himself. What is of real cinematic interest here is the character of Maciste himself. The name has been, especially from the 1960's, translated (incorrectly) into English as "Hercules." Maciste however was not just some Italian name for the Greek demi-god. Maciste was completely a creation of the Italian cinema, first showing up in the absolutely epic 1914 Italian "historical adventure" film Cabiria. By the late 1920's, there were more than 2 dozen Maciste films--all of them with heroic rescue plots. So it follows that Maciste would eventually be put in hell itself for the "ultimate" rescue (or escape/vanquish). What is interesting here, lies in the fact that the devil takes a personal interest in the corruption of Maciste and it is basically Msciste himself that he must rescue. Of course, the rescue also takes a form of redemption in the process. Actor Bartolomeo Pagano was the first and only Maciste of the silent era; he was in Cabiria and he plays Maciste in this film as well. After the coming of sound the character faded in popularity, as Pagano retired from film acting altogether in 1929. The character, however, made a rip-roaring return in the 1960's after a slate of blockbuster Hercules films were produced starting in the late 1950's. This Maciste film does still exist, and has been fully restored. It has been featured for screening at a number of film festivals, both silent and horror in nature, and even had a French death metal band--Gojira--record their own soundtrack for the film.