But I always try to finish what I start (no matter how painful) - So I'm back with classic horror movie number 8.
Today's movie is 1920s silent film - "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"
The plot centers around a young German lad named Francis who is sitting in a park telling his story to an old man who just happens to be sharing the park bench with him.
It seems a while back Francis and his friend Alan went to the local carnival to take in the show. They agree to go see Dr. Caligari's 'Cabinet' which contains Cesare - a very tall a creepy looking somnambulist (it's alright...I didn't know what it meant either). So a quick check on the inter-web and...A Somnambulist is - a person who sleepwalks.
You see Cesare is in a trance throughout the whole movie. Alan asks Cesare how long he has to live to which the prophetic Cesare says that Alan will die that very night.
Alan dies (go figure) and now Francis and his girlfriend Jane begin to suspect Dr. Caligari and his sleepwalking goon. Cesare kidnaps Jane on Caligari's orders, which results in a chase by a torch and pitchfork wielding mob. Cesare falls to his death, but Jane is saved.
The search is now on for Caligari who, as it turns out, runs the local insane aslyum.
But wait...there's a twist ending as we find out that Francis is really insane and locked up in said aslyum. Jane and Cesare are fellow inmates (as is the old man to whom he is talking) and Dr. Caligari while really the director of the aslyum is not really evil.
Ah...
So how was it?
Well, truth be told how good can a silent film from 1920 be?
Actually that's not quite true, I love Fritz Lang's epic masterpiece "Metropolis"...though I have to say it's very much improved by the Queen soundtrack they added in the 1980s.
The problem with this film as how slow the pace was. Now I'm not the kind of guy who needs explosions and boobs every two minutes in my film to keep my attention...but I do need a story arc that can play out in a reasonable amount of time.
Slow pace sure...but what was good about it was this whole weird art neveau thing they had going on with the sets. I do know enough about film to know that when it first started out they were simply taking stage plays and filming them. Thus the use of sets as backdrops. These sets were very far out and very cool. The Germans have never been afraid of experimenting when it comes to film and I admire that. Sometimes the pay off is pretty outstanding.
So in the end I'm gonna give this bad boy Three Skulls Ale...raise yer tankards Matey!!!
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