Monday, May 5, 2008

The Cabinet of Caligari (1962)

This horror film is an updated remake of the 1919 classic tale of horror and domination. This time a deeply troubled woman must go to a spooky, ramshackle old manse after her car breaks down. The owner takes her in and then subjects her to numerous humiliating torments. Just before she is to die, the woman awakens from the nightmare and then remembers that she is in a mental hospital and that the sadistic host in her dream is really her doctor. Noted author Robert Bloch penned the script. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Theatrical Feature Running Time: 105 mins
The Cabinet of Caligari (1962)
This departs from the other versions that I have seen (ie 2006 and 1919), this one is only similar in that the plot is a Reset button technique that what happens in the dream sequence is does not change "reality" except that the patient is cured during the nightmare sequence. In this film Jane is cured and there is no question that the dream sequence was just that a dream-although the same characters appear in the dream also.

Even if I had not seen the other films, I was wondering at the strange behavior of Jane including the opening scene where she seems to smile at the camera in a very personal way. Also, after learning that she is trapped, I would assume a woman in that situation would act in a more insistent and dramatic way.

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