Another of George Melies short films, this one lasting only a couple of minutes. The protagonist is an Egyptian prince grieving after the death of his beloved wife. Desperate to hold her in his arms once more, he employs the services of a mystic in order to make it happen, and the scene is set for a series of supernatural events...Once again the director jams as many camera tricks as possible into such a short space of time. We are treated to such delights as a spooky skeleton standing up and dancing. Its head then floats off and it eventually turns into a beautiful young woman before turning back into a skeleton. These effects are still enjoyable to watch after all these years. The background image of the Sphinx also looks very realistic. Melies once again impresses his audience with his skilled camera-work.

"Le monstre" or "The Monster" is a French 2-minute short film from 1903 and the year already tells everybody that this is silent and black-and-white. And despite being almost 115 years old, you can say "only 115 years old" when it comes to Méliès as he had made many films already at this point. And looking at how experienced and prolific he was by the early 20th century, this one here is a disappointment. It's virtually impossible to understand the story. good for him if he wanted to include a plot here, but it was not a success as the audience barely could understand it. In the end, everything that stays memorable is the Sphing statue in the background. This is far from enough though and nothing better than or superior to what Méliès showed us several years earlier in terms of set decorations. I do not recommend the watch. Thumbs down.

This little atmospheric short is about a couple of people in Egypt who are visited by a ghostly skeletal creature who rises out of a coffin that they have been transporting. Georges Méliès shows here once again that he was not only adept at visual trickery but was able to present it in an interesting way. The Egyptian setting is a nice touch and adds some exotic ambiance. The skeletal creature is manipulated in ways that are visually interesting. It dances around and is covered in sheets making it appear like a ghostly apparition. It rises high into the air and disappears into the ground. It even latterly turns into a woman. Of course, it's all very gimmicky but early films did not really tell stories at this point in history and Méliès did imbue his trick films with a definite charm. Le Monstre does sort of come off as a magician's show in many ways, but like a lot of his films it has been given a personality and the exotic flavour doesn't do it any harm at all.

Two minute show about a magician who takes a skeleton, and brings it to life. When he throws it at the poor girl who sits besides and watches in horror, the movie reaches its top. The sfx of this movie consists of very much noticeable clips, but it's really entertaining for those interested in the history of movies.