In the Bogie Man's Cave (1907) User Reviews

Georges Méliès is one sick freak in this film!!!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 7 September 2020]

I was very surprised as I watched "The Bogie Man's Cave" as I didn't think any film from 1907 could be THIS disturbing! It's one that all the Hannibal Lecter fans will enjoy..all others watch with caution!

The film begins in a cave. Some large guy is preparing a sinner in his frying pan. Now it's time for the final ingredient...a person!! You see him grab a smaller guy, stab him and then chop him up for the pan!!! Then, after he falls asleep, he has a dream in which folks come out of the pan and dispense justice to the evil man.

Had this 'Bogie man' been a monster, I ton't think the film would hae been quite disturbing. Instead, he's just some guy who is into cannibalism!! Pretty sick stuff and one of the few Georges Méliès pictures that I thought was pretty revolting...much more so even than his "Blue Beard"!

Overall, well made for 1907 but also pretty sick!

Top class Melies film

[rgapix · 10 September 2001]

As with many of Melies films this is a brilliant trick film. The ogre of the title eats various characters by putting them inside a cook-pot and taking out various parts of their bodies which the ogre swallows. A fairy appears and all the body-parts reappear and reassemble to take their revenge on the ogre. It is done with a great sense of style and fun.

Starts Out Pretty Bleak

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 20 November 2017]

An old ogre in a cave takes living people, dismembers them, and puts them in a big fruiting pan to cook. He then enjoys his cuisine. The title tells us he is a bogie man, so his victims seem to be children. This may have been in a bit of bad taste at the time. But we know that with Melies, there will be some kind of reckoning. As soon as the old guy decides to take a nap, spirits rise out for his frying pan and things change dramatically. This offers something new and the special effects are a cut above others at the time.

Decent Trick Film

[Michael_Elliott · 16 August 2012]

In The Bogie Man's Cave (1908)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

aka La cuisine de l'ogre

The title pretty much tells you the setting as an elder wizard is cooking up some sort of potion in his cave. He goes to take a nap and while sleeping various creatures come out of the pan. This is yet another trick film from the French master George Melies and this one here really does feel as if you've already seen it one time too many and this film just doesn't bring anything new to the table. The biggest problem is the fact that we've seen this type of film so many previous times by Melies and the director simply doesn't do anything new here. Sure, as it stands this is a mildly entertaining film but there's still no getting around the fact that at least one thing could have been done differently to make you feel as if you were watching something fresh. If you're unaware of the director's work then you might find it entertaining but I'd recommend checking out some of his better films.