Wednesday, April 11

The Tenement Ghost

In the aftermath of World War 1, an expectant bride from a well-to-do family marries her young lover. No happy-ever-after tale this, and The Tenement Ghost draws us swiftly into a sordid world of violence and despair. Yes, it begins well enough, the couple embarking on a grand European honeymoon, but the groom's thirst for alcohol is shortly apparent.

Returning home to begin their new life together, the bride finds her efforts to nurture the marriage thwarted by her husband's excessive drinking. He dominates the relationship but spirals into alcoholism, his arrogance and self-loathing manifest in physical and emotional violence. Her rapid transition from starry-eyed bride to battered wife is marked by the appearance of a ghostly apparition and, though we are never sure whether this spectre is real or simply a fantasy borne of her brutal situation, its appearances become more frequent as her personality disintegrates.

The death of their unborn child pushes her ever closer to the edge of sanity until the ghostly visitor's promptings finally impel her into a last desperate attempt to free herself from torment, bringing the Tenement Ghost to its ghastly and appalling climax. Watch this silent film below on Vimeo, or via HDPlay, Zaala or WatchFreeInHD.


The Tenement Ghost from Twisty-Headed Man Company on Vimeo.