I have just finished watching The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Why this film has not won more awards and is not better known, is beyond me! This film, when one considers its technical achievements alone, is a milestone in ingenuity. In its handling of the concepts of the original film, it is a heartfelt homage. In its re-imagining of the original film, it is chilling. As one who normally doesn't like re-makes, I have got to say, "I love this film and will watch it over and over again!" Kudos to the director for making a great film that any fan of the original German expressionist film should love. Thank you David Lee Fisher! Kudos to Daamen Krall for bringing a palpable villainy to Dr. Caligari. While watching the film, the voice of Caligari reminded me of Vincent Price. A voice of gentle yet refined menace. Kudos to Doug Jones with his masterful performance of Cesare! His performance rivaled that of Conrad Veidt. Everyone involved in this film is to be congratulated on a work masterfully crafted and acted! Thank you.

First of all, I'd like to state unequivocally that I have nothing against remakes. Many people seem to feel that great films are "untouchable," and any attempt to remake them is tantamount to sacrilege. I don't feel this way at all. A remake can be nearly shot-by-shot (like Gus Van Sant's Psycho) or have a very different story (like Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead), and still--I think--stand on its own merits, be enjoyable if it is well-made, and do nothing to diminish the existence of the original. That said, David Lee Fisher's remake of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a very, very bad film. The dialogue is poorly written, the acting is amateurish, and the superimposing of actors over scenes from the original film is not well executed. I was really interested to see this film based on the premise--original scenes from the silent version were rendered by computer, allowing modern actors to move across the old silent film scenery, along with dialogue and music--but the final product is painful to watch. Even though a lot of effort clearly went into making this film, the actors simply do not meld with the background most of the time. The famous scene where Cesare slides along a long white wall now looks silly, because it's clear that he's not touching it, and the digital shadows that have been created simply do not look natural. Another problem is the dialogue. It adds nothing new to the film, except to make slightly more explicit things that were fairly obvious in the original. I saw this film in New York (at Two Boots Pioneer Theatre), and the screening was followed by a Q & A session with the director. He admitted that he's never been able to watch the original film at regular speed in his DVD player, and he always fast-forwards through it because he finds it "slow moving," and figured he could improve on it. I believed him when he said that he's never been able to sit through the original at regular speed, since he also seemed confused about some very basic plot points and themes of the original. I think to remake a film, you should actually have seen it a few times, and have something new or interesting to offer. Anyway, the only positive thing I can say about this film is that the actor who plays Dr. Caligari (Daamen Kraal) was pretty good in his role, and Doug Jones makes an effective Cesare. Unfortunately, everyone else involved in making the film (especially the director) left a lot to be desired.

Great fun to see this old film re-worked. Daamen Krall as Dr. Caligary is excellent. He's creepy, manipulative and sensitive, all at once. By sensitive, I mean you can see his wheels turn. He's a very, very interesting actor, and matched the stylization of this film. Mr. Krall's turn around at the end is also very well executed. The director took on a great task re-working this film, and for the most part, he succeeds. The technical blending of the old and new is nearly imperceptible. However, at times, the dialogue and acting of some of the second leads takes on a very 21st Century twist, which throws off the "feel" of the film. Neil Hopkins is very handsome, and I like to see more of him (in other things), but he was guilty of throwing off this film with his contemporary style.

This movie was excellent. The acting was great. Dr. Caligari was the best, I want to see him in more movies. I hope it wins at scream fest. Did anyone else see it? What did you think? I did not see the original but, now I want to. Daamen Krall is a superb actor, has anybody ever heard of him before. I took my boys to see it, and they loved it too. It was pretty creepy though. The man in the cabinet was spooky, the way his eyes looked. I was disappointed though that the only African American person in this movie was the first to be murdered. Why is it always the African Americans are murdered first? I liked how after the film, you could ask questions for the cast and crew of the film.