The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Movie Release Date: February 26, 1920 (Germany) / March 19, 1921 (USA)

DVD Release Date: September 24, 2002

Plot 411: A man travels from town to town using a sleepwalker to do his bidding.

Review: This movie was pretty creepy, especially when you consider that it was made so long ago. I've read that this was the first horror film ever (not sure if that's true or not). I think modern horror films could take a lesson from this movie. Or maybe the Germans just have the scary movie market cornered? The fact that this was a silent movie actually enhanced the creepiness of it all. The score really played with your emotions and heightened the scenes tremendously. One minor irritation though is the overacting (lots of facial twitches going on), but I suppose since it's a silent film the exaggeration helps. I noticed that this film also utilized the scary shadow thing like "Nosferatu" did. It was effective in this one as well.

Watch It: To appreciate the true brilliance of movie making.

Skip It: If you can't be bothered reading subtitles.

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