The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Placing the expression in german expressionism, this seminal horror silent has remained a definitive achievement in spooky storytelling by way of creating a nightmarish world in which not anything is positive. As lanky somnambulist cesare (conrad veidt) commits a chain of murders at the behest of the titular hypnotist (werner krauss), director robert wiene sets the drama inside the confines of a labyrinthine environment that makes the upside-down look downright homey.
Shadowy homes hover in the heritage at awkward angles and roads veer off in dizzying directions. The ceilings regularly look as although they might close in on those frantic characters — and, with the remarkable plot twist of the final act, that’s basically what they do. Informed within the confines of a flashback, the film provides itself as the story of a young man (friedrich feher) whose international falls apart as he turns into aware of the physician’s evil scheme; with time, but, it’s clear that this unreliable narrator can be a victim of his own confusion, and the brilliance of “the cupboard of dr. Caligari” is that it locations us proper there on the middle of his madness. Nearly a century later, the very last twist nevertheless comes as a marvel to new audiences.