After rewatching the OG “Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” it is (humorously) impossible to differentiate the two Cesares but the thematic parallels besides their appearance is so clear.
Cesare the Somnambulist (CS) is a patient of an evil doctor forced to commit acts of violence against his will. Cesare the Zombie (CZ) was brought back from the dead to carry out a job. We don’t know what will happen to CZ but an act of rebellion or reclamation of autonomy seems imminent.
In a sense they are both zombies, but more from the Caribbean cannon instead of the western. Western zombies are the products of infection and herd mentality and they are the scary unpredictable things. Caribbean zombies are humans forced into labor after their death who will never find peace until the curse is broken. The Caribbean zombie is tragic. The one who cursed them is scary. They’re sympathetic beings.
CS and CZ are at the mercy of a supernatural tyrant. They’re eerie and unsettling (and hot) but the scariest thing about them is their circumstance, not who or what they are.
I really love that this overlap of the two separate fandoms has a really meaningful connection.
