The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a silent German film directed by Robert Wiene. I recently watched the film and did not enjoy it. I found the film hard to follow. This is because of the mellow dramatic acting and constantly seeing a new character turn up. The film is one of the first horror films but I do not think it deserves that title. The music, throughout, was mid-tempo and did not create any suspense or tension. Many times, with the music on the film, I expected to see two people sitting on a porch on a hot summer’s day but instead I saw a man woken from the dead trying to kill a helpless woman to happy music. However, the director successfully used German expressionism to create depth and space on the small sets and painted angles on the floor.
Several things about this film allows it to be considered a pioneering film for the 1920’s. Most films of the time had an obvious villain and the viewers could often guess who it was. In the film, the police arrest a man who they accuse of being the murderer but he only confesses to trying to murder someone else. This causes suspense because the viewers know that the killer is still on the loose. As this film went against the typical conventions, it was a first in its kind to use a false plateau.
This film carries a lot of conventions that Hollywood directors play on in today’s film industry. Such as the helpless female character trying to fight back but effortlessly fails, and the police thinking they have caught the criminal but it turns out they have arrested the wrong guy. These are two things that are in most films today, particularly Horror and Thriller films. Amongst these typical scenarios, there were many other things in the film that we see in movies today. This proves that it could be considered as one of the most influential films of all time.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is one of the most influential German Expressionist films. The director uses the expressionism for various things. He uses the expressionism for the strange set shapes and to create shadows and silhouettes in scary moments. Using expressionism to create silhouettes and scary shadows can successfully frighten the viewer because of how big the monster appears compared to how small the woman is.
Every horror movie, whether it is old or new, should be able to leave the viewer in fear. What keeps the viewers in tune with the story is the ‘fear of the unknown’. Which means that we should be ‘tied in’ to the story because we do not know what is about to happen; and that is supposed to frighten the viewer. But in the case of this film, the violence is mild and the killer is visible to us all. Because of this films blatant horror flaws, it should not be considered one of the greatest horror movies of all time.
