Behind the Door

WWI haunts cinema in a way that wars after did not but that's for very obvious reasons. The opening shot is one of the best I've ever seen. Crazy when you see something made 100 years ago that just blows 99% of most movies made now out of the water. Haunting. Do we reeeeallly want or need to know what the captain look liked skinned alive? Nowadays sure we would be shown but here we are haunted with what our own mind can conjure up.

Behind the Door (1919) is a sick revenge story. Not graphical, but what you can see is the intense hatred in Hobart Bosworth's eyes, showing once again that he really was the grand old man of silent cinema! Production wise it has the eerie look needed to feel the emotion on screen with some fine touches from director Irvin Willat. The story could possibly have been made even more intriguing during the early portion, but it builds nicely to it's climax.