The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

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Joaquin U @Joaquin1 May 8 It’s amazing how such an old movie—silent, no less—can still impact modern viewers. The twisted, disproportional, and eerie sets create the perfect stage for this tale of madness and suspense. It shaped the mystery/horror genre and stands as one of the most influential works in cinema history. Very entertaining, and a joy to watch. See more Nathan J. @NathanDirector Apr 20 Rating: 8.9/10 ⭐️ I expected a dusty old relic, but the wild, nightmare-like set design totally caught me off guard. What Worked: Painting shadows and harsh lines directly onto canvas sets gives the framing a claustrophobic vibe I absolutely loved. Projecting Cesare’s shadow during the attack was a brilliant blocking choice. Through my Methodist faith lens, seeing characters blindly obey deranged authority is a dark reminder to question worldly power and lean into grace. The Cuts: The early part really dragged for me before we actually get to the creepy somnambulist stuff. Because the camera is mostly locked off, transitions feel stiff, making it play more like a stage show. Keeping it spoiler-free, reading through massive chunks of text on dense title cards completely breaks the visual momentum right when suspense peaks. Verdict: A trippy nightmare that basically invented arthouse horror. A must-watch, but skip if you hate slow, silent-era pacing. See more Justin T @RT08580778 Dec 10 I was a little bored really. The plot was amazingly simple but I guess that a silent film will generally have a simple plot otherwise you’d have too many intertitles. The style looked very theatrical and this was interesting because I liked looking at the sets but overall I would say that films shouldn’t be a particularly theatrical medium. Anyway it was the early days of films. I didn’t find it creepy or scary or anything. I just liked the style and the sets were interesting. Entertainment has moved on from this. See more Sebas B @RT54793103 Nov 20 Tiene muy buena historia y pese a ser cine mudo es increíble. Lo mejor es el final. See more Jake G @RT81801238 Nov 19 This is such a surreal and inspiring movie. One of the great pioneers of horror film and one of the most influential silent movies of all time. See more Kevin P @RT55971421 Oct 25 An insanely influential silent film and a pioneer of film history. Arguably the grandfather of all horror films. While it might be obscure in modern times, it's legacy has inspired so many well-known classics, such as the 1931 Frankenstein or the majority of Tim Burton's film catalogue. The film has an incredibly lucid and mesmerizing Gothic design that's very dream-like. It feels like a sleep paralysis nightmare, where you're being put into a hypnotic trance. The movie is genuinely creepy and unsettling with its striking surreal imagery and off-putting soundtrack. The movie legitimately caught me off guard when there was a jump scare from soundtrack during one of the night stalker scenes, where the music suddenly becomes incredibly loud and distorted. The art design of the movie is also top notch. The houses are heavily inspired by German expressionist artwork of the early 20th century, with elevated angular windows and slanted buildings everywhere. I love the creepy costumes and makeup for the titular Dr Caligari and his puppet Cesare. They're very mysterious and played with so much personality with their unsettling maniacal body language from their silent film actors. The film ends with a surprisingly good twist ending, with just enough room for interpretation to make you want to rewatch it. Despite its age (over a century old now!), the movie is very well paced. I was never bored and it's always moving along thanks to its 6-act structure and colorful artistic speech & title cards. It's a very intriguing horror fantasy film and easily one of the best silent films ever made. See more Read all reviews

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

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