Story: Don’t be scared of a sonambulist. Be scared of the person who controls him.

Scares: Plenty of creepy goodness even though this film is almost 100 years old.

Splat Factor: In 1920? Fat chance. And it’s not needed.

Shock Ending?: In 1920? Okay fine; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is credited with “inventing” the shock ending. And it’s a pretty darn good one. Shame that endings with a twist have sunk so low lately.

Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: This is one of the first horror movies ever made. Needless to say, it’s an original. But Ima say it anyway.

Trick or Treat?: A silent movie for my final 31 in 31 pick this year? Hells to the yeah. Because if you haven’t seen this, you need to. It’s fucking brilliant.

The Netflix version has craptastic “mod” cards instead of the usual black and white Art Deco style. These new cards jolted me out of the vibe every time, and whoever decided they were a good idea should be flogged until I feel better. (The transfer isn’t so great either, but with a film this old I’ll let it slide.) There are better, crisper versions out there – I have a DVD version that’s better – but hey, Netflix streaming.

Caligari works on all levels. Horror, fantasy, thriller, stoner movie (or at least I like to think so; I’d bet any toker would freak the fuck out with the crazy-but-awesome-even-today set design and hollowed-out eyes of poor Cesare.)

But by far my favorite reason to watch this film is to sit back in wonderment as this Century-ahead- of- it’s- time film plays out. It’s brilliant. The amazing minimalist sets that manage to amaze and shock even today, the actors that required no dialogue to get their point across, the use of shadows and angles that are so wonderfully staged that directors and cinematographers are still trying to rip ’em off…. Well, you get the picture.

Happy Halloween – now get out there and get your creepy on!

Score: out of 5 pumpkins.