Synopsis
A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Mel BrooksDr. Richard H. Thorndyke
- Madeline KahnVictoria Brisbane
- Cloris LeachmanNurse Charlotte Diesel
- Harvey KormanDr. Charles Montague
- Ron CareyBrophy
- Howard MorrisProfessor Lilloman
- Dick Van PattenDr. Philip Wentworth
- Jack RileyThe Desk Clerk
- Charlie CallasCocker Spaniel
- Ron ClarkZachary Cartwright III
Recommendations
- 83
The A.V. Club
Anxiety is nearly as obsessive in recreating Alfred Hitchcock's visual style as Gus Van Sant's Psycho was, but to much greater effect. - 80
The New York Times
As witty and as disciplined as "Young Frankenstein," though it has one built-in problem: Hitchcock himself is a very funny man. His films, even at their most terrifying and most suspenseful, are full of jokes shared with the audience. Being so self-aware, Hitchcock's films deny an easy purchase to the parodist, especially one who admires his subject the way Mr. Brooks does. - 63
Chicago Sun-Times
One of the problems with Mel Brooks's High Anxiety is that it picks a tricky target: It's a spoof of the work of Alfred Hitchcock, but Hitchcock's films are often funny themselves. And satire works best when its target is self-important. - 40
Empire
As with all great spoofers, you can feel the love the director has for Hitchcock, the thoroughness of his jokes vouches for that and the entire plot is loosely based on Spellbound. Perhaps, he was too devoted, the film lacks daring, it’s soft, Hitch would have sneered at such weakness. - 30
The New Yorker
This is a child's idea of satire - imitations, with a funny hat and a leer...There isn't a whisper of suspense, and there are few earned laughs; all Brooks does is let us know he has seen some of the same movies we have.
