Review of Raising Cain (1992) by Lee B — 06 Oct 2009

I couldn?t help but find this movie again after finding out it was filmed in the San Francisco bay area. As is De Palma?s current career, this movie is quickly dismissed. However, I feel this movie is overlooked because of the cheese factor of John Lithgow playing someone with multiple personalities. And there are hammy parts, but you cannot take this movie seriously. And that?s the point. The storyline is pure pulp. It is the vehicle that takes you on the harrowing trip down a twisted mountain road at the edge of a cliff. It?s the journey that makes up for it and is what this movie is all about. De Palma made no qualms about it. He fills the movie with coy black humor and slap stick jokes. He even trades off dreams with day dreams with real dreams again. And then, there is the clock motif, that really just means?well, whatever you take it to mean. Time is running out. The timeline is not to be believed. Time should just be ignored. But if you watch this movie, you should be startled at least once.

This movie just plays out for the thrills. It sets up scenarios that are entirely constructed around the scare. And the technical brilliance of scenes like the walk down to the morgue that relies on the one actress to just get it right.