Number 289 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2005 horror film 'The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.'
Dr Caligari (Daamen J. Krall) id a mad scientist who has secretly brainwashed the somnambulist Cesare (Doug Jones) into becoming a murderer. When Francis' (Judson Pearce Morgan) friend is killed, Francis swears to put a stop to Dr Caligari's madness.
This film is a remake of the 1920 original, which was a classic of the German Expressionistic genre. Director David Lee Fisher recreated the genre perfectly. The scene and set-design were so perfect that it felt like I was watching a Fritz Lang film. They brilliantly evoked a chilling atmosphere. Everything had a surreal tinge to it, making it all the scarier.
The houses had been built at strange angles and trees didn't resemble trees at all. They were abstract outlines from a waking nightmare. The monochrome only added to the creepy atmosphere.
The original film was silent, lacking any dialogue, so perhaps that explained all the over-acting and corny dialogue. The dialogue was cheesy. It didn't sound good coming out of the actor's mouths. I'm not sure whether this was intentional on Fisher's part. Having said that, the performances were good. The ever-great Doug Jones was very creepy as the brain-washed murderer.
Either way, this was still an entertaining if weird and surreal film.
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