Lolita Davidovich runs into former boyfriend Steve Bauer and starts a steamy affair. Her husband John Lithgow has given up his psychiatric practice to raise their daughter, and she feels neglected as he devotes all his time to their kid. After a fairly bizarre series of dream sequences, she finds out her husband isn't who she thinks he is, kicking off an odyssey of psychotic twins, not-quite-so-dead fathers, murder, child kidnappings and split personalities.I have seen this film a couple of times, and thought it was a brave attempt that didn't really work. I've now watched the new director's cut, and while it fixes some problems ... it still doesn't work. It fixes one major problem by not front-loading a lot of reveals about Lithgow and allowing more of the film to play out as a series of revelations. However, the first part that now focuses on Davidovich, is a fairly incoherent series of scenes of her suddenly waking up and pulling the rug out from under the viewer. Strangely, this cut seems to think that the viewer will be surprised by Lithgow's true nature, but really ... it so badly telescoped that I can't imagine anyone not seeing every surprise coming a mile away.Truth be told ... many De Palma films relay on ridiculous plot twists and silly reveals, but they do so with style and elegance. This film ultimately fails because it substitutes weird, awkward staging and clumsy sequences where you expect elegance.

Brian De Palma should never be left to his own devices. Working alongside a creative support team, the talented director still manages to borrow from every manual in the book, yet his films are usually entertaining. Left to himself, as he is here, the results become a torpid series of sticky hijinks--a grab-bag of ideas taken not just from De Palma's heroes, but blatant steals from his own pictures! John Lithgow has been preconditioned to give a bravura actor's turn as a child psychologist whose personality has been 'split' by his nefarious mad-doctor father; when Lithgow spies his unsatisfied wife having an affair with a former flame, he goes off the deep end, resulting in a series of incoherent violent attacks aided by a trouble-making twin brother who doesn't really exist. Cinematographer Stephen H. Burum does some interesting things with his camera, and yet the art direction lets him down (the colors congeal and the film ends up looking chintzy, a problem Burum had earlier on "Body Double", also a De Palma film). Lithgow cackles, acts the hipster, dresses in drag, the works. However, all these fancy tricks--and De Palma's silly scare theatrics--cannot save the picture from doing a fast fade. *1/2 from ****

this is a good Saturday night feature to view! make some popcorn and get ready for a weird but fun ride. famous actors are in it which surprised me because it is a cheesy film but entertaining .not gory like today's offerings. it held my attention to the very end. give it a try and you just might enjoy it!

One of the most jolting and disturbing horror thrillers ever made, "Raising Cain" centers around the character(s) played by John Lithgow, as a man outwardly known as Carter but in whom lie submerged a number of other personalities, including the malevolent title character Cain. Carter, as it turns out in the first few minutes of the film, was the original personality but was split off into new side personalities as a result of the deliberate infliction of trauma by his father for the purpose of researching multiple personalities (one of the most disturbing incarnations of the 'mad scientist' idea ever seen on film). The re-emergence (or raising) of Cain and the subsequent abduction of the child of Carter and his wife Jenny (well played by the underrated Lolita Davidovich) sets off one of the scariest movies in history, with riveting suspense and visual shocks that are literally jolting, like few movies have ever achieved. Extremely recommended for horror, suspense and mystery fans.