The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)Director: Robert Wiene
Writers: Hans Janowitz, Carl Mayer
Actors: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover
For a quick lesson in the study of German expressionism, check out The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The stylized tale of a crazed doctor and his murderous somnambulist, Cesare, Cabinet was groundbreaking at the time it was released and its influence is still felt today. Watch this film and tell me you don’t see elements of Edward Scissorhands and The Crow, or Tim Burton’s entire career, for that matter. This movie throws realism under the bus and takes the viewer on a fright-filled ride that leaves you questioning what is real and what is merely an insane nightmare.
The Wicker Man (1973)Director: Robin Hardy
Writers: Anthony Shaffer (screenplay), David Pinner (novel)
Actors: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee
If you were unfortunate to have seen Nicolas Cage in the remake of The Wicker Man, you can redeem yourself by revisiting the real deal. The original cleverly weaves humor, music, terror, and fantasy together to create a uniquely fantastic film. Sergeant Howie (Woodward) travels alone to Summerisle, a remote island, to investigate the case of a missing girl. When he arrives, the inhabitants feign ignorance of the girl’s very existence, causing Howie much frustration. The truth turns out to be far worse than anything he could have imagined as he learns a hard lesson about faith and its repercussions.
The Changeling (1980)Director: Peter Medak
Writers: Russell Hunter, William Gray, Diana Maddox
Actors: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere
Ready for a good ghost story? Furniture that moves on its own accord? Creepy old houses with nasty secrets? Then The Changeling is the movie for you! Not to be confused with the new Angelina Jolie flick, Changeling, The Changeling is a grand ghost flick that takes us on a ride with a grieving widower (Scott) who in an attempt to start his life over by moving to a new city and into an old mansion, finds himself in the center of a mystery. What happened in this house so long ago? Watch the movie if you want to find out, I love this stuff! George C. Scott is awesome as usual and plays a brooding widower well.
Zombie 2 (1979)Director: Lucio Fulci
Writers: Elisa Briganti, Dardano Sacchetti
Actors: Ian McCulloch, Tisa Farrow, Richard Johnson
Watch Zombi 2 if for nothing more than to see the most amazing zombie versus shark scene ever to hit celluloid. Ok, it’s probably the only zombie versus shark scene to ever hit celluloid, but it is still marvelous. Zombi 2, otherwise known as Zombie, was meant to draw in Dawn of Dead fans but has no connection to Romero’s Dead films. It follows reporter Peter West (McCulloch) who travels to the island of Matool to investigate the origins of a boat full of corpses that appears in New York Harbor. He is accompanied by Anne (Farrow, sister of Mia) and together they discover that Matool has a little problem with, you guessed it, zombies! I think this is a great movie but be warned, it’s pretty gory, make that really gory. The only version of this flick is dubbed but it’s an Italian horror so the dubbing is done well.
Dead & Breakfast (2004)Director: Matthew Leutwyler
Writers: Matthew Leutwyler, Jun Tan, Billy Burke
Actors: Ever Carradine, David Carradine
Yay, Dead & Breakfast! I think this is one of those movies that you think is awesome or you just don’t get. I of course, think it is awesome. I saw this in an independent theater with a couple of friends and the house had maybe 25 people in it but we laughed and laughed, it was a good old time. Dead & Breakfast is a silly, silly spoof of a zombie movie that is part comedy, part musical, part gorefest, and all fun. There are a ton of recognizable faces such as David Carradine, his niece Ever Carradine, Portia de Rossi, Jeremy Sisto, and even Brian Krakow from My So Called Life! If you like silliness, you might enjoy this one.
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