Dr. Caligari (film)
Dr. Caligari is a 1989 American avant-garde horror erotic film co-written and directed by Stephen Sayadian and starring Madeleine Reynal, Laura Albert, Gene Zerna, David Parry, Fox Harris and Jennifer Balgobin. It is a quasi-sequel to the 1920 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The film details a disturbed doctor (the granddaughter of the original Dr. Caligari) and her illegal experiments on her patients.
| Dr. Caligari | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen Sayadian |
| Written by | Stephen Sayadian Jerry Stahl |
| Produced by | Joseph F. Robertson |
| Starring | Madeleine Reynal |
| Cinematography | Ladi von Jansky |
| Edited by | G. Martin Steiner |
| Music by | Mitchell Froom |
| Distributed by | Manley Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Originally and briefly billed as Dr. Caligari 3000 when it debuted at select theaters in 1989, the film promptly faded into obscurity. Since it was released on VHS and limited Betamax format, the title has been Dr. Caligari. The film is considered a cult classic and has been shown as a "midnight movie" at various times.
In the film, Dr. Caligari conducts mindswapping experiments on unwilling mental patients, in an attempt to cure them. She succeeds only in transferring certain mental conditions and character traits from one person to others. The main themes explored in these experiments are human cannibalism, nymphomania, and transvestism.