Review of Dr. Caligari (1989) by Dan B — 24 Aug 2009

While certainly outrageous and often gruesome, Dr. Caligari runs out of steam halfway through and never quite picks back up until the last ten minutes. At its peak the film is hilarious and an excellent example of an unconventional art film.

The choreography and rhythm are amusing, and a couple of the performances (while wooden) are pretty entertaining. The sets and "special effects" are top-notch, and Sayadian has no problem immersing the viewer in whatever strange world the film takes place in.

If all 80 minutes were the equivalent of the tongue scene, this could be a great film. The only problem is that the second "act" seems to almost take itself seriously, which is the exact opposite direction that a film like this wants to go in.

This might be the strangest movie I've ever seen, but I was hoping for a more satisfying one to claim that title.