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Gripping story with well-crafted characters

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Suffering a car accident, a woman comes to the home of a strange doctor entertaining guests who are staying at the house, but realizing that she's a prisoner in the house she tries every possible way to get away from the asylum.This is a dismally dreadful film that has little to like about it. Most of the film's problems result from the fact that it never once feels like a true horror film, for while it has a potentially creepy premise this one stays so low-going and the same way throughout it plays out as a drama. Nothing happens in it, and the fact that it continually uses the cliché of having her try to get out and get caught only for no punishments to be dealt out gets too ridiculous at times and only hastens the plot's completely dull nature. The fact that it takes so long to even do anything is a huge problem, taking a near eternity to even get to the point of the film. It starts off creepy as the continual denials at finding out what's going on, but then after a while it soon becomes aggravating when it refuses to do anything, and it seems as though all it does is simply run through the same lame psychological torments time after time which results in nothing more than aggravation and irritation at keeping the cycle going hoping that the strange behavior of the other inmates is enough to work this out. There's also a big flaw in that she's captured at the beginning, but is given the reasoning behind her imprisonment at the end which in itself is such a lame motive more should've been done with it as this manages to make the others out there even more noticeable. However, there's some good stuff here at times as one of the main ones is that it goes to great lengths to set up a creepy atmosphere. There's a tremendous effort to keep her at the sanitarium, and after awhile these can be somewhat creepy. The fact that not a straight answer is given until late in the film, despite knowing what happens to them at the sanitarium, helps this have a real air of dread to the scenes. The only other factor that works is the twisted ending, which actually has several things going for it. It's the only thing that feels mildly threatening, with the sequence where it feels like a series of photographs on display being especially impressive. It has a great look to it that seems really freaky, and the twist involved with it is a pretty nice surprise. These, though, are all the film has going for it as all of that pales to its complete inability to feel like a horror film.Today's Rating-PG: Mild Violence.

Here is a film that much improves on a second viewing. The first viewing, unfortunately, may turn a lot of people off because of its moderate pace and what comes across as bad writing and bad dialog. But give it a try... or two tries. All that seeming badness is there for a reason. This is the story of Jane, a woman on 'vacation', whose car has a flat. She gets out and walks, ending up at the house of a very powerful and apparently evil man, Caligari, who keeps her captive. Others she meets at the place come across as characters from the Twilight Zone. In fact, everything about this place and its characters, plus the way they interact with Jane, is very off. Characters seem to appear for no reason and sometimes deliver dialog that is purposely over the top and even wildly campy. The plot focuses on Jane's relationship with Caligari, who appears to be some whacked out psychotherapist, and her attempts to escape his psychological as well as real hold on her. Other people at this house try to help her escape... or do they? By the end of the film, though some may see it coming a mile away, everything is put into focus. I wanted to re-watch the film right away, but decided to give it some breathing room. When I finally did re-watch, I was amazed at how much more interesting it was, knowing what I knew from the first viewing.*** SPOILERS NEXT PARAGRAPH:Of course what we learn is that we have been viewing the world through the mind of a mentally deranged woman. Once we see that, as we watch the film the second time, we can see that all the weirdness, bad dialog and bizarre character behavior was really Jane's mind playing tricks on her. The tricks reveal what a state of denial Jane is in about her fear of aging and losing her beauty. I'm sure many women have problems facing this aspect of their lives. The visuals of the film and concepts like a revolving door to enter Caligari's office, the twisted stairwell, the stark lighting, and effective use of still images, all contribute to creating a very uneasy state of mind. When I first watched, some scenes truly creeped me out, though they made me laugh at the same time. On second viewing, they still creeped me out, but the laughter was gone. The major flaw in the script is that following a major mental trauma Jane is considered "cured" and well enough to leave what we find out is not Caligari's 'home', but a mental institution. *** END SPOILERS This movie is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it's an imaginative remake of the 1919 expressionist "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," minus the somnambulist and the bizarre sets. Yet the remake's visuals hearken back to the design of the original. The twisted stairwell, an amazing hallway dream sequence that could have been right out of the 1919 film, the psychologically conceived sets and often artificial lighting really recreate the mood of the old film.Glynis Johns is quite effective as Jane. She plays her right on the edge. Her conversations with Caligari (Dan O'Herlihy) are laughably disturbing. Often Jane's shock of what she sees is our shock as well. I know many find this film just plain terrible, but I think it has many surprises if you give it a chance (or two!). Gerald Fried's inventive score fleshes out Jane's state of mind beautifully. "Caligari" may have been pitched as a horror film, but it's not. If you go into it thinking it's a fright film, you'll be disappointed. As a voyage into the depths of insanity, though, it has a lot going for it. Just like Jane, who enters a house expecting one thing only to find something very different, you need to know what you're getting yourself into before watching!

This is truly a dreadful movie. The Twilight Zone served up this sort of thing much more efficiently on a weekly basis at the same time, with production values that were hardly any worse, but infinitely more entertaining. Any of Serling's writers could have compressed this into 25 minutes with no loss whatsoever, and they could have shot it in an afternoon. Glynis Johns, for all she has to work with, could not possibly be less sexy, even by early 60s standards. The only redeeming feature is perhaps the historical interest of exposing how appallingly stupid psychiatric theory was at the time, and for many still is. But lots of other contemporary movies accomplish this in a much more interesting way -- say, David and Lisa, any movie with Anthony Perkins, even all those forgettable movies featuring the absurd psychiatrist with the vaguely cosmopolitan accent, and a perfectly trimmed lip mustache. It's a shame that they used the Caligari name, which is the only thing that keeps this alive.

Driving through a tunnel into the great unknown of "freedom", with her shoes off no less, Jane(Glynis Johns) faces quite a predicament with her car's tire blows out. After a mile or so trek down the lonesome, uninhabited road leading to the gate of a mansion, Jane believes she's found help when the resident's owner, Caligari(Dan O'Herlihy)offers to send someone to fix her vehicle. Told the vehicle has more than just tire damage, Jane's offered refuge, but finds herself trapped within the (electric) gates of the estate with Caligari not allowing her access out. The rest of the film shows Jane's attempts at getting out of the clutches of Caligari and finding others within the estate seemingly trapped as her. But, as Caligari would later inform her..nothing is what it seems.Thanks to the success of "Psycho" which perhaps opened a door to explore more psycho-sexual subject matter, that film's writer, Robert Bloch, had an opportunity to explore similar terrain. Caligari, a sinister figure who seems to remain in his little office, unscrupulously forward with questions of Jane's sexual history, desiring to know everything about her. He makes it known that he will not touch Jane, and seems like a perverted sadist who gets his jollies listening to female captives baring their record, naked to him. Characters present on Caligari's estate, Christine(Constance Ford), his dutiful servant who seems eager to carry out any wish, no matter how cruel it might seem, Paul, a mannered gent with a quiet calm whose role seems uncertain, often consoling a tormented Jane wishing to leave. Mark(Richard Davalos), a handsome fellow Jane befriends at a gathering of folks at Caligari's dinner table..Mark is transfixed with her, but only can see her at night, for some reason, so wishing to part with her from the estate. Frank(Lawrence Dobkin)who offers Jane a chance to possibly break free, who seems to be in charge of holding others inside, only allowing certain people out(..like a nosy cook/maid). Ruth(Estelle Winwood)seems to be in the same predicament as Jane, a prisoner only allowed access out to the town every once in a while. When Ruth promises Jane a chance to leave, it seems she is beaten to death by Frank with Caligari standing present with Christine. But, overall, it's a film about Jane and her attempts to leave the estate which holds her captive. Watching as she slowly deteriorates emotionally, Glynis Johns provides us with a sympathetic character who seems robbed of her freedom, forced into remaining in this place with eyes around every corner encountered by friendlies who wish to chat and converse. I will say that the ambiguous nature of the behavior of the characters present in Jane's orbit and their dialogue which often hides certain things from her, talking in riddles, comes together when the film reaches it's climax. Bloch, I felt(..perhaps, I'm one of a few), crafts a nifty little psychological tale where you are kept guessing, like Jane, as to what are the true motivations of everyone around Jane, and why is she being held against her will. I found the lurid dialogue, for a film made in '62, rather startling because the confrontations between captor and prisoner often probe areas of a sexual nature. Johns has a magnificent scene where she attempts to seduce Caligari, desperate at this point, believing he might be impotent, hoping to fracture his psyche a bit...by cracking his foundation, she would've at least given him a taste of his own medicine. The film is as Caligari tells Jane..nothing is as it seems. Keep that in mind. Director Kay and writer Bloch really keep you at bay, with Jane encountering some strange situations that are often head-scratching..that is, until you find out the "real truth" of what ails Jane.Perhaps a sleeper if one can shake off the comparisons to the German silent masterpiece of the same name..just approach this as a different film, and you might enjoy it more.