Early Expressionist Frights in ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

Slippery Somnambulist.

After closing out February with discussions of Mitchell Lichtenstein’s vagina dentata-centered horror comedy Teeth (listen) and one of the “good” Amityville franchise entries in Amityville 1992: It’s About Time (listen), we’re taking a look at the oldest film we’ve ever covered in Robert Weine‘s classic silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)!

In the film, Franzis (Friedrich Feher) and his friend Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) encounter the crazed Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), who has just opened up a sideshow featuring his somnambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a hypnotized man who the doctor claims can see into the future. At the performance, Cesare predicts Alan’s death, and by morning his chilling prophecy has come true — making Cesare the prime suspect. Unfortunately for Franzis, Caligari has set his sights on his fiancé Jane (Lil Dagover) next, and it’s only a matter of time before Caligari sends Cesare after her.

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Episode 323: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Stay away from that sideshow attraction and watch out for murderous sleepwalkers because we’re discussing Robert Weine‘s classic 1920 silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, believed by many to be the first true horror film ever made!

Join us as we go on a tour of pre-WWII German history and learn about German Expressionism to see how Caligari came to be. But more importantly: to acknowledge the importance of this seminal film that has influenced countless film directors in the 105 years(!!!) since its initial release.

Cross out The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re kicking off a themed month of Doppelgängers & Doubles with a look at Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan.

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 370 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Borderline, Oddity, Opus, Death of a Unicorn and a brand new audio commentary on Sin City for its 20th anniversary.

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