Reaction & Review | Dr. Caligari

 

Welcome, one and all, to an all new Reaction & Review. Tonight, ladies and gentleman, I'm gonna be covering an erotic horror comedy from 1989. That movie is "Dr. Caligari".

I'm gonna be honest with you, guys, I've been wanting to watch this thing since I first discovered it on YouTube, probably, about a year and a half ago. And I've been wanting to find an opening for this thing on the schedule, however, other movies I've wanted to watch started to get in the way of that, so I had to keep pushing it back. And eventually the movie had gotten taken down. However, I thankfully bought a copy of this movie online quite a ways back, even before the movie had gotten taken off of YouTube. And after all this time, I finally get a chance to cover this movie tonight.

Now, from what I can tell you that I know about this movie is, honestly, not a whole lot. I've heard various things from the people who have watched this movie, saying that the movie's weird, it's strange, it's fucked up, and as much I hate using this word, it's trippy. So it kinda ranges from those words. Which probably isn't saying much, seeing as how they all sound similar to each other. But still, it makes me curious to see how much this movie lives up to those standards. I've also heard that this movie has a bit of a cult following. Which certainly raises the chances of this thing being good. I mean, people often considered "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" to be a cult classic, and I ended up loving that thing. So again, this movie has that chance.

The one thing I can tell you about this movie I do know is that this movie is kinda, sort of a sequel to a silent horror film from 1920 known as "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". And this movie's main character, as shown on the front cover, is related to him in some way. Now, since I haven't seen "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", any comparisons with this movie to that one is not going to play a factor here. In fact, I don't even know if this movie's gonna reference that movie in any way, but I'll find out when I fire up the movie.

I'm just hoping, above all else, that this is going to be good. Now, even though this movie does have a cult following, there is also the possibility that this movie might end up sucking hard, if it turns out that way. I'm really hoping that's not the case, but I won't find out unless I quit stalling and I actually watch this thing for myself. And I really want to watch this that badly. So, the only way I'm gonna find out if this thing is any good at all, is if I shut up, and I push play, and I'm gonna do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Dr. Caligari".

1 minute later

Well, guys, I can already say that this opening music here is...kinda creepy. Mind you, the music is really good, but that creepiness factor is what really adds to it. I'm sorta digging it.

7 minutes later

You know, guys, the more I look at that doll baby's face, the more I'm getting a little bit uncomfortable as he's...very slowly humping this nude woman. Like seriously, that thing could be the stuff of nightmares! I just wanted to let you guys know.

6 minutes later

You know, it's weird. We're not even a quarter of the way in, and this movie has done something that I didn't think was possible. I kinda understand what's going on in this movie. And yet, at the same time, I am totally lost on what's happening here. Again, I didn't think that this was possible, but this movie's already accomplished that real quick. Holy shit...

5 minutes later

OK, this is a minor thing, but I kinda wish this movie would make up it's mind on how to pronounce Dr. Caligari's name. Because this older guy is pronouncing her name as if her last name was spelled "Gary" instead of "Gari". Mind you, the other people that are talking to him to do pronounce her name as "Gari" when saying her full name. It's just kinda bugging me a little bit, you know?

6 minutes later

So this weird, creepy dude is telling this story to Dr. Caligari that the girlfriend he killed, he cooked her in a stew pot. And he didn't bother to take off her dress while he was cooking her...? I don't know, it seems sorta weird that he would leave the dress on before he dropped her into the stew. Then again, I'm not in this weirdo's fucked up mind, so hey, what do I know?

5 minutes later

You know, I never thought I'd say this, guys, but this movie has, probably, the most tongue action I've ever seen. I don't think ANY movie I've seen has ever topped this much tongue action. And I don't think it ever will.

12 minutes later

Oh...so that's what happened to Eleanor's arm after if was horribly burned. I have no idea what the hell that thing's suppose to be for her arm, but I will say that it looks really fucked up and kinda nasty. I really wish I could describe it, but I can't. It just looks incredibly fucked up for words, you know?

18 minutes later

You know, guys, being that we're a majority into the film right now, I think I should probably mention this. The dialogue in this thing is so bizarre, yet...kinda interesting at the same time. It's hard to describe why, but I'll try to explain once the movie's done.

The Review

O...K...well, guys, that was "Dr. Caligari". Let me shut the movie off...OK. Wow...um...what do I even say about this? Well...I guess I should mention early on that this movie was known to be strange, weird, fucked up, and all that. And yeah, it totally lives up to all of those claims. But now I gotta figure out what to start with?

I guess, maybe, I should start with the writing. Since I just mentioned that this film is so strange and weird, I should probably state that if you go into this movie, and if you're expecting some sort of a deep plot, there's honestly not much of that here. Because while there is something resembling a plot here, it's not really something that you're gonna be focusing on. But let me try to explain what kind of a plot we're dealing with here. So, this guy named Les is married to a woman named Eleanor. And at one point, they were suppose to live happily ever after. At least, according to Les. But then somewhere along the way, his wife became incredibly obsessed with sex. So much so that it causes Les to send his wife to an insane asylum. Not just any insane asylum, but it's creatively known as "Dr. Caligari's Insane Asylum". I find this to be a bit odd, because I thought Les would take the more common sense approach and get his wife to a therapist of sorts, so that they can work out their issues in regards to sex. I don't know if it would've helped the situation any, but that's what I would've thought of doing first if my wife or girlfriend were obsessed with sex. However, that is just me. Now, as I just stated, Les sends Eleanor to this insane asylum. And from there, it's just a weird, fucked up, train ride that the movie's going to try to suck you into. Because the movie is just blooming in it's own creativity. Now I could totally imagine someone watching this, and they turned it off because it wasn't making a ton of sense. And I wouldn't blame you. Because the movie, like I said, doesn't really have much of a plot. Well, there is one other side to this. There are these two assistant doctors named Ramona and Adrian, and they believe that Dr. Caligari's experiments are going too far, and they try to convince the director to release her, to which he denies. So, even with their requests getting turned down, they gotta find a way to stop her themselves before her experiments go any further. However, and I'm gonna spoil this a bit, it doesn't really go anywhere. And it ends in a rather strange way that, I can't really describe it without going too much into spoilers. I could also mention this serum that Dr. Caligari uses, in which she can swap someone's brain fluid with other patients, and that also plays a factor towards the end. However, again, I can't really go too deep into that without having to spoil it. Because, you know what? Even though this movie doesn't have much of a plot, what is here that I mentioned does kinda work in it's own twisted way. Where if you could overlook the strangeness of this movie, you might find something here in terms of the writing that might keep you invested. Again, provided you can over look the sheer amount of weird bullshit that goes on in this movie.

Now, another thing I should mention is something that I brought up before starting the movie. Earlier, I mentioned that this movie was sort of a sequel to "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". And I wasn't sure if this movie was going to make any references to that movie or not. Well, they actually do mention a couple of things I can mention here. One thing is that our main character, Dr. Caligari, is the granddaughter of the original Dr. Caligari. And the movie's opening credits shows still images of shots from "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". I'm not gonna go any further into the references, because some of them do get mentioned later on, which would also tie into spoilers. Now even though I have never seen "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", after watching this, I'm more than interested in checking that movie out, because I'm curious to see how this movie was able to play itself off as kinda, sort of, a sequel of sorts. But getting onto other things, I do have a few problems with this movie. As I stated earlier, the look and style of this movie is it's biggest blessing, but also it's biggest curse. Since this movie like's to be in it's own world with this insane asylum, it could also be a problem for those that are looking for more of a story here, rather than just be mesmerized by the sheer amount of insanity that goes on here. And since I stated that this movie is not really serious with it's plot, you're probably going to be turned off by this movie. Mainly because, this movie is just doing it's own thing. And I believe it knows what it wants it to be. Then again, I also have to consider the fact that this IS a B movie, after all. And in most cases, B movies never usually have serious plots anyways. And coming from someone that enjoys B movies, I was kinda expecting this thing to be weird and goofy anyways. However, I will admit that it also has a lesser focus on it's plot, not that I've stated that already, but still. And looking back on certain B movies that I covered for this series, I think of stuff such as "Killer Klowns from Outer Space", "Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies", and "Chopping Mall", I noticed that those movies usually try to focus on it's plot, while also knowing that they're horror comedies at the same time. However, with this movie, not only is the plot a little less focused on, but it also doesn't really have a lot of comedy. In fact, for a horror comedy, I didn't really get much of a laugh out of this thing. However, if you are able to view this movie with a peculiar set of lens, then you'll probably find something here that is just fucking funny as shit, and you're probably going to get a laugh out of it. As for me, it didn't quite work as a horror comedy. However, at the same, I can't deny that I didn't get some enjoyment out of this movie. So, it's sort of a give and take situation here.

So overall, writing here is rather schizophrenic. It's certainly not the strongest with it's story, but it still has something here that fans of B movies are going to enjoy. So, what about acting? Oh boy, um...the acting is a very strange thing for me to talk about. Because it ranges from either being incredibly stilted, to being very hammy in some places. And in most cases, I would say that any movie that has stilted acting like this would be considered terrible. But...this movie is sorta stopping me from doing that. Because this kind of acting makes the film kinda lovably cheesy. And that's really the best way I can sum up the acting is that it's not great, but it actually makes the movie kinda fun to watch. Because every actor just seems to be in their roles, and they know what they're doing with it. Most of them are just playing the patients at the asylum, and they don't really have much to work with beyond that. Which is perfectly fine, because you're not expecting mountains of depth from insane asylum patients anyway. But anyway, the acting here is the kinda stilted dialogue that you might actually get a laugh out of. Because, like I said, it's the kinda cheesy, stilted acting that you're probably going to really like. Again, provided that you even like cheesy acting in the first place. As for me, I'm fine with cheesy acting, as long as it's not trying too hard to be overly cheesy. But regardless, the acting from everybody works good enough, and their delivery on these roles certainly establishes that.

I want to touch upon the sets, because this is where the movie truly shines. You see, as I made mention earlier, this entire movie is set within "Dr Caligari's Insane Asylum". And insane is an understatement. Because right from frame one, you are going to be sucked into the sheer amount of bizarre weirdness that this movie offers you. And for almost the first 10 minutes or so, there is no dialogue going on. It's Eleanor going through this weird shit as she's seeing this guy in a doll mask, as he's slowly humping either a corpse or a patient, it's not really quite clear there. And it just doesn't stop. The insane asylum is filled with shit like a wall that might be alive and has it's rather large tongue sticking out at Eleanor. And Eleanor, being the sex crazed maniac that she is, attempts to kiss it with her own tongue. I am not joking about that, and that is only the tip of this iceberg. We have props that look like they came out of a game show from either the 70's or 80's. While I'm on this subject, I may as well dig into special effects. Just about everything here, save for one exception, are practical effects. I'm talking about stuff such as blood effects, which there aren't much of anyway. There's also an effect where I mentioned that wall just a moment ago with the huge tongue. Well, as Eleanor was busy kissing and licking the tongue, the wall splooges out something that looks like it might've been either chopped vegetables or fruits, but I couldn't tell you why. My guess is that the wall might've caused an orgasm. But again, that's just a guess. Also, I never thought I'd get to say that a wall might've orgasmed. So yeah, that's...something new. Anyway, there's also one bit of digital effects involving electricity, and it looked rather cheap. But then again, this was all filmed on a low budget, so you have to make due with what you got. And seriously, this movie looks great with the sets that they worked with. Just about all of it is creative, and it seriously makes the movie shine very well with it's atmosphere. Makeup effects are also pretty good, as is the costuming.

Camerawork is pretty good. Lightning is mostly decent. Sound-mix is here mostly good, save for one scene. And it's during one scene right towards the beginning of the movie after the 10 minutes of no dialogue goes by. So, there's one scene where Eleanor is talking to somebody on this television. I don't know if it's suppose to be a warped and twisted version of her or what have you, but the woman that's talking on the television set has inaudible dialogue. Now you could make the argument that because the TV was filled with static, it was suppose to make her dialogue that way. However, I couldn't hear shit throughout almost her entire dialogue, right up until she started to come in clearer with her in what she was trying to say. Which is weird, because Eleanor was somehow able to understand what she was saying, yet I, as a viewer, wasn't. So, that was, like, the only issue I had with the sound-mix. However, in terms of everything else in regards to the sound-mix, it was fine. The music in this movie is very eerie and rather creepy at times. And it gives off that sense of weird and creepiness very well. So, the score here works rather well.

Ultimately, guys, can I recommend "Dr. Caligari"? I would say if you are fan of B movies, yes. This thing has a strange vibe to it that it can be worth viewing, at least, once. This thing, at least to me, is probably one of the weaker B movies I've seen. I'm not totally sure if I would end up watching it a second time. But I will also say that if you're looking something new and different, well shit, you're actually going to get a lot of that here. Now I can't guarantee that you'll end up liking it because it has that weird and bizarre look to it, but I still think it might be worth watching once. And I will also say, again, that this movie made me interested in watching "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". I don't know if I'll cover it for this series, or I'll watch it on my own time, but I am rather interested in checking it out at some point. As for this movie...well, like I said, I don't know if it's something that I would watch a second time. And the reason why I say that is because if I do end up watching it again, all of that weird factor that I got out of watching this movie might not be as impactful as my first viewing of this movie. But I will consider whether or not I will check it out again at some point. For now, though, I'm kinda in the mood to watch another B movie. I think I'll go watch my copy of "Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.". Because I need to relax my brain with something after watching this thing. So, I'm gonna go do that after I'm done putting this review together.

Anyway, guys, with that, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all in the near future. Peace.