FILM: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Arguably the first true horror film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari set a brilliantly high bar for the genre -- and remains terrifying nearly a century after it first stalked the screen. Directed by Robert Wiene, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, or in German “Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari”, is a German horror film that dates from 1920.

It’s considered to be one of the most influential films of the silent era. Werner Krauss plays the title character, a sinister hypnotist who travels the carnival circuit displaying a somnambulist named Cesare (Conrad Veidt). In one tiny German town of Holstenwall, a series of murders coincides with Caligari’s visit.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is said to be the first example in the cinema of German Expressionism, a visual style in which not only the characters but the world itself is out of joint. The film was inspiration for many other in future including Nosferatu.

Rating: NR
Director: Robert Weine
Starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt
Release Date: February 26, 1920
Runtime: 80 minutes