Raising Cain (1992)

In Brian De Palma's taut 1992 psychological thriller, *Raising Cain*, the idyllic facade of suburban life shatters when neighborhood children begin to vanish without a trace. Jenny, increasingly disturbed, soon finds her suspicions centering on her own husband, Carter, a seemingly respectable child psychologist. She fears he may be succumbing to, or actively resuming, the chilling and deranged experiments his own father performed on him during his traumatic youth. As the disappearances escalate, it falls to Jenny to unravel the terrifying mystery, her growing dread compounded by the safety of her own child. *Raising Cain* earns its place among Brian De Palma's best works by being a quintessential showcase of his signature style and thematic obsessions. The film is a dazzling, often shocking, exercise in psychological suspense, allowing De Palma to indulge in his most characteristic visual flourishes: dazzling long takes, split-diopter shots that heighten tension and duality, and a pervasive sense of voyeurism that implicates the audience. John Lithgow delivers a tour-de-force, career-defining performance, embodying a character fraught with multiple, distinct personalities—a theme De Palma explores with both shocking violence and a darkly comedic edge. The film is a direct and audacious homage to Alfred Hitchcock, particularly *Psycho*, yet it's filtered through De Palma's unique, often baroque, lens of suspense and Freudian exploration, culminating in a series of unforgettable, audacious twists that solidify its cult status and enduring appeal.