This 10-part silent-era serial from 1915 exploits the power of horror imagery to great effect. Almost a quarter of a decade before Batman hit upon a similar idea, writer/director Louis Feuillade created his criminal gang, the Vampires, who play upon their supernatural name and style to instil fear in the public and the police who desperately want to put a stop to them.
The gang, including femme fatale (and easily decoded anagram) Irma Vep (played by Musidora – the stage name of silent-film actress Jeanne Roques), meet in underground caves, travel across Paris via rooftops and hidden tunnels and passages and dress head to toe in black robes with masks covering their identities. In short, they are the stuff of nightmares. While it's through the detective work of newspaper journalist Philippe Guérande (Edouard Mathé) and his comical sidekick that we follow the crimes, it's clear that Feuillade's heart is more with the gang. And who could blame him: they are unutterably cool and clever – and several episodes were banned in France, for many years, for glamourising criminal behaviour. In this case it's a fair cop.