THE DEFECT is considerably longer than Feuillade's shorter works and significantly shorter that his better-known achievements, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. The director's efforts at realism extend to retaining moments that other filmmakers of the era would otherwise discard. Scenes begin and end without cutting on activity; the frame, occasionally, is unconventionally absent of actors. Therein, in a sense, THE DEFECT is one of the earliest "inaction" movies in the history of cinema!