Dr Caligari

As sexually deranged as it is stylistically unhinged, this surrealist neo-noir riffs on the German expressionist classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to eye-popping effect.

It turns out that the granddaughter of the original Dr Caligari is also a doctor (Madeleine Reynal), and she runs an organisation called CIA: the Caligari Insane Asylum. Through her doors come all manner of damaged individuals, easy prey for her unconventional methods.

Multimedia artist Stephen Sayadian (aka Rinse Dream) gives free rein here to his love of skewed, dayglo production design - looking better than ever thanks to a recent 4K restoration. Put that together with bizarre one-liners (‘Juice me, I’m a shiver boy’) and Mitchell Froom’s moody synth score, and you have an art-punk oddity worth staying up for.

“Watching Dr. Caligari feels like finally devouring that perfect forbidden treat — parts of it may be bad for you, but in the end, the thrill is worth it.” – Amy Detrich, Gayly Dreadful

The screening will be preceded by a short introduction from film scholar Daniel Bird, who produced this new restoration and is currently working on a reissue of Cafe Flesh.