There is more than a little of the "Dr. Caligari" (1921) to this compendium of three stories. Visually very similar in style, with angular - seemingly disjointed and out of scale sets and wonderfully targeted use of lighting serves to augment these episodes. A waxworks provides that environment where William Dieterle works, charged with writing some texts to accompany the effigies of three historical figures. The first is a fun "Arabian Nights" tale with Emil Jannings as "Harun", the second sees Conrad Veitd portray the Russian Czar Ivan IV (the terrible), finally he embarks on a tale of "Jack the Ripper" - supplied by Werner Krauss. As he writes, he imagines that he - and the owner's daughter - Olga Beljeff - are actually part of his series. All three present them with comical and perilous escapades, the first sees Jannings unceremoniously stuffed into a baker's oven, having fallen in love with the wife of the baker; the second depicts Ivan as a megalomanic reduced to simpering dolt and the final story is left hanging intriguingly as the would be author finally succumbs to sleep. For what it's worth, my favourite is the second story - but the third one is probably the more accomplished piece of cinema. The techniques of overlaying the film to give us an haunting feeling as "Jack" stalks his victims is really quite effective - if all too brief. As three short stories, this works well and though I am certainly no expert on German cinema, this has to be one of the more enjoyable - with engaging characters and plots - "expressionism" efforts I have yet encountered.
While vacationing on a remote German island with his pregnant wife, an artist has an emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.
In 1930s Prague, a Czech cremator who firmly believes cremation relieves one from earthly suffering is drawn inexorably to Nazism.
A psychotic clown hosts an anthology of loathsome tales with an uncommon theme....... Love.
Creature Feature is five interwoven tales of terror that occur one foggy Halloween night in Georgia. A babysitter learns a new appreciation for fine art and hard lesson about the consequences of being irresponsible...and naughty!; a group of college kids stumble on the mother of all Scarecrows; two teenagers are forced to steal from the wrong cantankerous old hermit who has been known to occasionally howl at the moon; a murdered father comes back for vengeance against his gold-digging wife and traitorous children; and all of this Halloween fun is made possible by a London Gentleman known as..."Jack"
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
Loosely inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's short story 'Beyond the Wall of Sleep', this film follows Jude Slater, a man who has recently inherited the house of an important figure in the town of Freasdal. What horrors lay in wait beneath the foundations of the home have yet to be seen.
Laughter and Grief by the White Sea is a 1987 Soviet traditionally animated feature film directed by Leonid Nosyrev made at the Soyuzmultfilm studio. The film is a celebration of the culture of the Russian Pomors who live around the White Sea.
God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.
Three short stories linked by a stray cat that roams from one tale to the next, in this creepy triptych that begins as Dick tries to quit smoking by any means necessary. Next, we meet Johnny, an adulterous man who's forced by his lover's husband onto a building's hazardous ledge. Finally, Amanda is threatened by an evil gnome who throws suspicion on the family cat.
Norman Bates is declared sane and released from the facility in which he was being held, despite the complaints of Lila Loomis, sister of his most famous victim. Is he really cured, or will he kill again?
Created by gay directors and actors, Boys On Film features numerous award-winning shorts that deal with all aspects of gay life. Volume 2: In Too Deep contains nine complete films: Till Kleinert's "Cowboy" starring Oliver Scherz and Pit Bukowski; Håkon Liu's "Lucky Blue" starring Tobias Bengtsson and Tom Lofterud; Matthieu Salmon's "Weekend In The Countryside" starring Théo Frilet, Pierre Moure, and Jean-Claude Dumas; Soman Chainani's "Kali Ma" starring Kamini Khanna, Brendan Bradley, and Manish Dayal; Julián Hernández's "Bramadero" starring Cristhian Rodríguez and Sergio Almazán; Craig Boreham's "Love Bite" starring Will Field and Aidan Calabria; "The Island" featuring director Trevor Anderson ; Arthur Halpern's "Futures (and Derivatives)" starring Kelly Miller, Cam Kornman, and Bill Barnett; and Tim Hunter's "Working It Out" starring Simon Kearney, Paul Ross, and Glaston Toft.