Product Description

A tour-de-force dual performance from john lithgow ignites this intense psychological thriller packed with hair-raising plot twists. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/06/2004 Starring: John Lithgow Ed Hooks Run time: 91 minutes Rating: R Director: Brian De Palma

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31508 in DVD
• Brand: Universal
• Released on: 1998-09-08
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
In this wicked thriller from 1992, director Brian De Palma shamelessly borrows from Alfred Hitchcock (as usual) and several other filmmakers to create a shock-a-thon that plays like a film buff's highlight reel from a dozen different thrillers. Taken on those terms it's a lot of fun to watch (though not for the faint-hearted), and multiple maniac roles for John Lithgow make it an irresistible shocker that isn't afraid to wallow in its own excess. Lithgow not only plays the evil Dr. Carter Nix, who is performing strange experiments on children, but he also plays the doctor's twin sons, Josh and Cain, who kidnap kids and bring them to their father's laboratory. Lolita Davidovich is a mother whose child has been abducted, but she won't give up without a fight. If this sounds repulsive, rest assured that De Palma focuses on the battle between the mother and the nefarious twins (this isn't a film about gratuitous child abuse), and film students will delight in the allusions to Hitchcock, Michael Powell's Peeping Tom, and Orson Welles's Touch of Evil, among others. It never makes much sense or adds up to anything truly satisfying, but thanks to Lithgow's wild performances Raising Cain is the kind of over-the-top thriller that grabs you for 95 minutes and holds you in its entertaining grip. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

A Fine Suspense Thriller
Okay, bare with me. This movie is kind of confusing. First of all, the horrendous reviews on this page do not do this fine film justice. They must've seen a different film. Brian De Palma directed this stylish thriller With John Lithgow playing twin brothers, who don't know wether or not to help their nutso father(also played by Lithgow)steal children so he can perform experiments on them. It's a dark and disturbing subject matter that might turn off some people. There are a few twists and turns here that keep this movie incredibly interesting. De Palma definitley has a style that's all his own. Odd camera angles, slow motion scenes, etc. Besides the roles mentioned above, Lithgow plays a few more as well. Everybody knows that Lithgow is an incredibly brilliant actor. With this role, he gets to show off his tremendous talent. He steals the show and eats up every scene he's in. A remarkable performance. Lolita Davidovich plays his wife who's having an extramarital affair with character actor Steven Bauer. Frances Sternhagen("Misery") also shows up as a psychologist. The movie is dark and weird. The first half is pretty talky. It sets up the characters and what's going on. If you hang in til the second half, you'll have fuun because things start rolling and everything goes nuts. It's an interesting film where it's tough to really say too much. What you can say doesn't describe the film and what it's really like well enough. If you say everything then you'll definitley be letting some secrets out. De Palma definitley has a Hitchcock thing going. Good for him. Somebody needs to keep that kind of classic filmmaking alive. All in all, this is an odd and intriguing film. You might not think much at first, but it'll hook you and you won't want to turn away. It's a creepy film that is destined to give you the willies. Raising Cain is one of the better psychological thrillers to come around in a while. Do not listen to the negative reviews. They know not what they say.

Deceptive, Deranged, Demented, DePalma!!
This is a psychological thriller that couldn't have came at a better time than it did, but unfornately it almost got ignored at the theaters. What a travesty! All that was coming out in those days were mindless, generic thrillers like "Sleeping With Julia Roberts", "The Hand That Rocks Rebecca De Mornay", and/or "Single White Stupid Movie". I still remember telling a friend right after seeing "The Bonfire of the Vanities" that (even though I love all of the different genres of film that DePalma has made I think his thrillers are where he excels best), it was time for DePalma to return to the horror genre. And, it's as if he heard me, because this little treasure opened just a little over a year later.
Here it was to save the day! DePalma's most demented, deceptive, deranged piece of work in years. A psychological thriller that weaves back and forth, moving in and out, and in between dreams, thoughts, fantasies, flights of fancy, characters that don't exist outside of the mind, a love story, a kidnapping story, a "mad doctor" scenerario, murders, multiple personalities, framing the innocent for murder, a character that is either a "personality" or back from the dead, and reality.
Loaded with doses of extremely dark humor, this is a relatively simple story, just told in a difficult way (the basic rule of any great director), with not only references to Hitchcock (I especially loved the nod to "Frenzy"), but DePalma even riffed himself just to spite critics who had always bashed him for riffing Hitchcock and others. There is one scene in particular that is straight out of "Dressed To Kill", as well as a few other references to that film. This is a very dark journey inside the mind of a very distured individual who was made that way by experimentation as a child. Yes, John Lithgow plays Carter, Cain, Josh, and Margo Nix, as well as "their" father Dr. Nix, who is supposed to be dead; so is he too just another personality of Carter's? And he plays all five roles so brilliantly, that you believe everyone of them. The way writer, director DePalma fleshes out and brings all the characters together is something to be praised for decades!
Lolita Davidovich is great as Jenny Nix, Carter's confused, frustrated wife who has a few flights of fancy herself, again allowing the film to take us inside the minds of the characters in this film in such a stylish way that will stay in your mind for a long period after viewing. Steven Bauer is really good as Jenny's former lover, Jack, who lost his wife to cancer while Jenny was his wife's nurse, when they both fell in love with each other. But, Jenny married Carter, and now in her confused state of mind over her husband's behavior, up pops her ex to ignite a new passion in her; and Cain literally splits in two, three, four different ways. Look for Gregg Henry in a great performance as one of the detectives, Mel Harris as Jenny's friend, Gabrielle Cartaris as a doomed babysitter, and Frances Sternhagen in what could probably be the best role she's ever done, Dr. Waldheim, a psychiatrist who's surviving cancer, wearing a wig that she declares "I look like a transvestite in this!". A wig that is befitting for a real "Drag Queen" (the only other time Lithgow did this was in "The World According To Garp", a GREAT film, which this is openly paying homage to). Thus, leading the viewer to, what reviewer Adam Craig has stated: The BEST ending in DePalma's film cannon, if not the best over any other film in this genre! After viewing this, and I watch "Body Double", I now almost wished that DePalma would have scrapped the ending credits scene, and just faded to black after the final scene at the resevoir; but, I now have come to reappreciate that ending. This is definetly a film that could compare to Rob Reiner's "Misery" or Kubrick's "The Shining" as far as having a character that delivers lines so deviously sinister, yet hilarious in the same breath. This is definetly a thinking person's horrorshow! It dares to go where few films before it have dared to go...inside the Human mind and the horrors that lay dormant there, just waiting to awaken and come to life and be a character all their own. And, the coolest riddle of all to those that have seen it and loved it (which I know a LOT of people that LOVE this film, plus there are a lot of great 4 or 5 star reviews on here from some very insightful reviewers): If Margo is the protector of the children, then is her presence to be be feared or comforting in a crucial scene?
Anyways, if you like films that play out like a cat and mouse game, then this is for you. It is not a very difficult film to follow, but like chess, it has continuos twists and turns, so just let yourself go for the ride and you'll love every minute of it! Something that's Deceptive, Deranged, Demented, Delirious, Devious, Delicious DePalma at his Disturbing best! Thank you.

De Palmas trubute to Hitchcock
While many seem to dislike

this film, as an asparing writer/director this film is a work of art to me. Making a smart story to keep you engrossed all the while honoring Hitchcock throughout the film makes it all the better. The acting is great, and no one who has seen this film will soon forget the "hospital scene." From the practically replica scene of "Psycho" where Anthony Hopkins pushes the car into the swamp, to our star in drag this film is almost like a remake of psycho, the way it was meant to be. (let's just pretend that Gus Van Sant's verson of Psycho never came out) Well, great acting, directing, and writing make this film classic.

Hitchcock would be proud.