One of the most famous of the German silent expressionistic horror films (yes this implies that there were more of those). Dr. Caligari is a mysterious not particularly trustworthy looking man who displays a freaky looking Somnambulist (a fancy way of saying a sleepwalker) at a carnivale.
While unconscious this somnambuilts can tell your fortune, he can also secretly sneak out at night and kill you. He kills this one guys friend so the one guy mounts a search and eventually tracks Caligari down to an insane asylum he administers.
Odd plot, but neat looking, you can see the influences on artists the likes of Tim Burton (Cesar looks a lot like Edward Scissorhands), Terry Gilliam, and even Dr. Seuss. Arguably better then the more famous Universal monster movies that followed it a decade later. Even the title cards here are unique, though they where probably redone during the 1996 restoration of the film. I can not deny however that the film benefited from its succinct running time (70 something minutes) you wouldn't want to drag this simple story out any longer.
Grade: B+
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