The X-Ray Fiend (1897) - the first British horror film
The X-Ray Fiend (1897) - the first British horror film
The X Rays (1897). Subscribe: http://bit.ly/subscribetotheBFI Also known as 'The X-Ray Fiend', this comedy by G.A. Smith combines two very recent innovations: Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895, and Georges Méliès' accidental realisation of the special-effects potential of the jump-cut ...
Writing the community information got me thinking about what was the earliest British horror film.
A handy article, The First 10 Horror Films in Recorded History, obviously covers the work of Georges Méliès, who was a real leading light and innovator in the field but George Albert Smith was right up there alongside him, making the fourth (the one linked above) and the sixth (1898's now lost Photographing a Ghost) ever horror films:
Prior to becoming a photographer and filmmaker, Smith worked as a stage hypnotist, psychic, inventor, and lecturer. He was also a key member of an informal group of British film pioneers called Brighton School, and a close friend and collaborator of Georges Méliès. Throughout his career, he contributed to advances in film editing and the color film process.
edit: switched link to the BFI version, which seems more fitting and they supply more background information in the description.