Influential silent horror classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is getting a contemporary reimagining titled Doctor Caligari’s Cabinet of Wonders.
Deadline reports that Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals, Revolutionary Road) will star in the mind-bending psychological horror film.
Production is set to commence in June, with John Erick Dowdle (As Above, So Below, Devil) directing from a script he wrote with his brother and creative partner Drew Dowdle.
Shannon, who previously collaborated with the Dowdle brothers on Showtime’s “Waco” and “Waco: The Aftermath,” will play the titular villain.
Doctor Caligari is a traveling mesmerist who journeys from town to town with a sleepwalker under his control, leaving a trail of grisly murders in their wake. When a young woman’s boyfriend disappears mysteriously, she believes that the enigmatic Caligari is somehow responsible. The problem is — nobody believes her.
“Having worked with Michael Shannon on multiple projects, my brother and I have seen firsthand the unnerving intensity he can bring to even the simplest moments,” said John Erick Dowdle. “The idea of seeing him play the horrifying Doctor Caligari became an obsession for us.”
He continues, “The trust and creative shorthand we’ve built together will allow us to push deeper and bolder as we reimagine this iconic German Expressionist classic for a modern audience. I couldn’t be more excited to bring this nightmare to life with him.”
Anton is financing the film as well as handling worldwide rights at the European Film Market in Berlin next week. CAA Media Finance will co-rep North American rights with Anton.
Drew Dowdle will produce for Brothers Dowdle Productions alongside Sébastien Raybaud (Greenland, The Night House) & Brandt Wrightsman (Greenland 2: Migration) for Anton and Stuart Manashil (His House, Boy Kills World).
Released in 1920, Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema that some consider to be the first true horror film.
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