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August 7, 1992
August 7, 1992
Universal Studios
R (Restricted)
Brian De Palma
John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer, Frances Sternhagen, Gregg Henry, Tom Bower, Mel Harris, Teri Austin, Gabrielle Carteris, Barton Heyman, Amanda Pombo, Kathleen Callan, Ed Hooks, Jim Johnson (II), Karen Kahn, Noe Montoya, Riq Boogie Espinoza, Carolyn Morrell, W. Allen Taylor, Scott Townley
"Great movie :) John Lithgow is fantastic in this movie.I think he should of stayed way from comedy.Dont get me wrong he was funny but I just think he makes a better villain then he does a comic. His work in Ricochet was outstanding as well"
- BR7, gave it a 4/5
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 - Amazon.com
