Dr. Caligari (film)

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Dr. Caligari
File:Original movie poster for the film Dr. Caligari.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStephen Sayadian
Written byStephen Sayadian
Jerry Stahl
Produced byJoseph F. Robertson
StarringMadeleine Reynal
CinematographyLadi von Jansky
Edited byG. Martin Steiner
Music byMitchell Froom
Distributed byManley Films
Release date
  • 1989 (1989)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Dr. Caligari is a 1989 American avant-garde horror erotic film co-written and directed by Stephen Sayadian and starring Madeleine Reynal, Laura Albert, Gene Zerna, David Parry, Fox Harris and Jennifer Balgobin.[1] It is a quasi-sequel to the 1920 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.[citation needed] The film details a disturbed doctor (the granddaughter of the original Dr. Caligari) and her illegal experiments on her patients. Originally and briefly billed as Dr. Caligari 3000 when it debuted at select theaters in 1989, the film promptly faded into obscurity. Since it was released on VHS and limited Betamax format, the title has been Dr. Caligari. The film is considered a cult classic and has been shown as a "midnight movie" at various times.[2] In the film, Dr. Caligari conducts mindswapping experiments on unwilling mental patients, in an attempt to cure them. She succeeds only in transferring certain mental conditions and character traits from one person to others. The main themes explored in these experiments are human cannibalism, nymphomania, and transvestism.

Plot

The main plot involves Dr. Caligari's experiments with her patients at the C.I.A. (Caligari Insane Asylum), where she transfers glandular brain fluids from one patient to another. Two of her main patients, Mr. Pratt, a cannibalistic serial killer, and Mrs. Van Houten, a nymphomanical housewife, are the primary subjects of her mindswapping. Mrs. Van Houten becomes the cannibal and Mr. Pratt the nymphomaniac, although they seem to still retain some elements of themselves as well. Apparently, Caligari's unconventional idea is to cure people by introducing equally opposite traits to balance out disturbed minds, but this is never explicitly stated in the film. Several other doctors, a married couple (Mr. and Mrs. Lodger) become concerned with Caligari's experiments and approach Mrs. Lodger's father, Dr. Avol, who confronts Caligari only to fall victim to her mindswapping and receive an injection of Mrs. Van Houten's brain fluid, turning him into a transvestite nymphomaniac.

Cast

Release

Dr. Caligari was shown at the Toronto Festival of Festivals on August 30, 1989.[3]

Critical reaction

From a contemporary review, "Devo." of Variety found the film to have a "weak attempt" at "campy dialog and bizarre plot twists" and that "even discriminating cult movie mavens may sit this one out."[3] A retrospective review from the Los Angeles Times wrote "One of the kinkiest artifacts ever to come out of Orange County has to be the movie "Dr. Caligari.""[2]

Home video

References

  1. ↑ Cavett Binion (2015). "Dr. Caligari". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-06-05.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Smith, Mark Chalon (July 13, 1995). "Movie Review : 'Dr. Caligari' Offers a Dose of Nuttiness". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Devo. 1991.

Sources

  • Devo. (1991). Variety's Film Reviews 1989-1990. Vol. 21. R. R. Bowker. There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "September 13, 1989". ISBN 0-8352-3089-9.

External links

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