No filmmaker is as well-versed in the act of cinematic rug-pulling as Brian De Palma. Like Hitchcock, he delights in playing his audience through turns of plot and changes of character that qualify his otherwise intellectually delectable head-trips equal audience-pleasers. Raising Cain, like Femme Fatale, is defined by its dreamlike (or, rather, nightmarish) reality, a veritable melting pot of lucid imagery and sharp narration that defines what cinema's all about.

Structurally as complex as Cain's mind. Just don't you dare take it seriously.

"Rather than clarifying, De Palma's technique with Raising Cain effectively obliterates the audience's bearings." - Eric Henderson

John Lithgow saved this movie from being one of the worst movies ever.

Serviceable De Palma thriller. Kept me entertained for 90 minutes and it has some memorable scenes as well.

De Palma always focuses on visual storytelling and doesn't give a fuck about realistic acting or dialogue. He sure gets a lot of hate for that but I find him to be one of the most cinematic directors around and I absolutely love his expressive style. And I think that's what it all comes down to with this film. It's classic De Palma: an exploration of his usual themes filled with Freudian symbolism, spatial set-pieces, POV shots, and elaborate tracking shots. In short, cinematic splendour!

did not know Lithgow had it in him. :o what a great fucking performance. real expectations-fucker, this one.

The best film I've seen from De Palma, thanks largely to his either very wise or incredibly lucky decision to cast John Lithgow. I like Lolita Davidovich also.

De Palma is one of those filmmakers that either hit or miss. Here, I feel it was more a miss than a hit. Raising Cain isn't horrible, but it isn't terribly interesting either. I was confused a couple of times as to what the hell was going on, which never helps. I think if there was some actual setup to the characters rather than just jumping right into the suspense, that would've been better.

Lithgow is great,but the movie really sux

Lithgow is quite amusing in this film and perhaps make it worthwhile watching.

Beautiful. De Palma scores again. I've actually said, "It's not the mileage, it's the make," to a younger woman who hit on me

While I am a huge John Lithgow fan, his overacting in this film does tend to take away from the overall effect of what could have been a great film, even if the premise is hokey and overdone.

John Lithgow is one of those hit and miss actors for me. Here he hits a bullseye

Take a look into this movie, and your opinion of John Lithgow playing 'that guy in Third Rock From The Sun' will change - dramatically. Lithgow plays Carter Nix, the son of a mad child psychologist who used him as his own guinea pig for his own twisted experiments. These experiments split his mind into Carter and Cain...Good and Evil...with some shocking results. The plot gets a little muddy and confusing at times but it's one of the best straight-to-video films I've ever seen.