Dr. Caligari (1989)
-
75% of users liked it
(236 ratings)
Sharing little in common with Robert Wiene's expressionist classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (aside from the name and a series of stills from the film during the opening titles), this brain-damaged, perverse fever dream is set in the Caligari Insane Asylum (CIA), a nightmare labyrinth of… More Sharing little in common with Robert Wiene's expressionist classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (aside from the name and a series of stills from the film during the opening titles), this brain-damaged, perverse fever dream is set in the Caligari Insane Asylum (CIA), a nightmare labyrinth of impossible angles and colors, within which the fabled mesmerist's kinky granddaughter (Madeleine Reynal) rules with an iron hand, a phallic-looking syringe, and a hot-pink PVC dress. Caligari's associates -- including a leering therapist (Fox Harris) and a clone-like doctor/nurse team -- are loonier than their own patients...and in this place, that's saying a lot. Most of the unnameable experiments taking place have to do with the doc's desire to transplant her grandfather's synaptic fluid into her own brain to acquire his genius. She also has a peculiar fascination for prize patient Mrs. Van Houten (Laura Albert), a repressed housewife with horrifying sexual fantasies involving doors with giant tongues and razor-wielding madmen. (When asked to describe her life in two words, Van Houten replies matter-of-factly, "unending torment.") Basically a catalogue of surreal, psychosexual shock images, this is the second feature from director Stephen Sayadian (aka Rinse Dream), whose porno epic Cafe Flesh also melded sci-fi themes and post-modern expressionism; this is essentially more of the same, minus the explicit sex. One wonders why he bothered. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Directed By
- Stephen Sayadian
- Genres
- Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jun 1, 1989 Wide
- Studio
- Shapiro Glickenhaus
No Critic Reviews Found…
Featured Audience Ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Subscription Services
Cast
-
Madeleine Reynal
as Dr. Caligari
-
Fox Harris
as Dr. Avol
-
Laura Albert
as Mrs. Van Houten
-
Jennifer Balgobin
as Ramona Lodger
-
John Durbin
as Gus Pratt
-
Gene Zerna
as Les Van Houten
-
Carol Albright
as Screaming Patient
-
Joseph Baratelli
as Shoe Salesman on TV
-
Vera Butler
as Human Lamp
-
Catherine Case
as Patient with Extra Hormones
-
Lori Chacko
as Patient in Bed
-
Debra A. Deliso
as Grace Butter
-
Salvador R. Espinoza
as Baby-Man, Spanish Patient
-
April Hartz
as Shoe Customer on TV
-
Marjean Holden
as Patient in Bed
-
Jennifer Miro
as Miss Koonce
-
Tequila Mockingbird
as Door Tongue
-
Dave Perry
as Dr. Lodger
-
Barry Phillips
as Cesare
-
Stephen Quadros
as Scarecrow
-
Anthony Robertson
as Patient in Doorway
-
Magie Song
as Patient in Straitjacket
