Don't Ring the Doorbell (1978)

"I don’t know how to talk to people, living or dead" - Cissy

aka: The Mafu Cage
Two sisters struggle to find peace with each other... and apes.
Starring: Carol Kane, Lee Grant, Will Geer, James Olson, and some apes.

Link to IMDB

Cissy

Ellen and Cissy are two sisters that live together in a large mansion left by their father, who was a renowned explorer of the world. We quickly learn that Cissy is a very eccentric and disturbed lady, and she's obsessed with anything related to the jungles she visited as a child.
The house has a large caged room where Cissy usually keeps her pet ape, but the cage is vacant now because she killed the poor animal in a fit of rage!

Ellen is trying to be a loving sister but Cissy proves difficult to control at times. After Cissy threatens to kill herself, Ellen is forced to get another ape for her. At first Cissy loves her new Mafu (the name she gives all her pets,) but she eventually loses her temper and kills again.


Ellen becomes increasingly tired of her sister, but she gets help from an old family friend named Zom, and her co-worker, David. Zom has advice on how to control Cissy, while David is attempting to start a romance with Ellen, but she is perpetually single because Cissy rules her life.

When Ellen leaves town for the weekend, Cissy is left to her own devices in the big house and she spirals deeper into her barbaric psychosis. Without a Mafu to control she needs a new outlet for her rage, and no one will be safe from the Mafu cage!

Ellen                                     David                                   Zom

This is quite a curious movie, and it's probably one of the strangest examinations of madness that I have ever seen. Every aspect creates a bizarre tone that almost feels like you share a part in Cissy's skewed view of reality, and while I appreciate the arthouse vibe that they were going for, it isn't enough to make the movie truly interesting. It doesn't help that the thematic metaphors are literalized so obviously that it leaves no room for subtlety.

Getting weird in the Mafu cage

The story ultimately goes nowhere, except to the predictable escalation of Cissy's violence. Much of the movie focuses entirely on the character study of the sister's relationship under stress, but there's very little narrative drive to move the plot along.

Overall, this is a very strange movie with an unorthodox premise about insanity, but its inherent weirdness just isn't enough to make the movie really worthwhile.


Does the movie deliver on the Don't...
0 out of 10
The doorbell is never an issue, but this is another case where it's better known as the alternative title.

Be sure not to miss:
- There's even some incest themes.
- "The penis would be soft and small, and then it would get big and hard."
- There is so much loud jungle music here, and half the time you can't tell if it's actually playing in the house, in Cissy's head, or just the score.

Internet review:
"I like weird, but sometimes you need more than just weird." - BlueRed

Should I watch it?
Don't bother.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

Don't Ring the Doorbell gets...