It was released in the U.S. at the ScreamFest Film Festival on October 22, where it won three prizes: the Audience Choice Award, Best Cinematography and Best Special Effects.

The film tells the story of the deranged Dr. Caligari and his faithful sleepwalking minion Cesare and their connection to a string of murders in a German mountain village, Holstenwall.

The narrator, Francis, and his friend Alan visit a carnival in the village where they see Dr. Caligari and Cesare, whom the doctor is displaying as an attraction.

[6] R. Emmet Sweeney from The Village Voice gave the film a negative review, writing, "Although technically impressive, the remake is dramatically inert, as the set becomes a motionless backdrop to theatrical line readings instead of a pulsing manifestation of diseased minds.

The plot is followed to the letter, and as Cesare, Doug Jones displays a wounded sensitivity that honors Conrad Veidt’s celebrated turn.