This movie is well-regarded by critics everywhere for its fascinating visual style, and groundbreaking structure, being one of the earliest examples of a non-linear narrative, and the unreliable narrator trope/twist ending. The sets and matte paintings (and even the film poster) are all built to resemble German Expressionism, which has many purposes. The first of which is more functional for the narrative, that it hints at the twist ending, in which the narrator is actually an evicted madman, and the whole film was in this character's head all along. The distorted images represent the nonsensical, unconscious world he has created in his head. The visuals also give the film appeal, and that's a very important thing to consider when creating a film with a unique visual style. The audience is meant to accept that the film has this visual style in order to appreciate it, and the film succeeds at making the visuals very well-crafted and impressive looking. Lastly, the visuals give the film a very disturbing atmosphere.
This shot for instance shows Caligari (right) and Cesare (left) in a room alone together, and Caligari is feeding Cesare. What you are seeing creates an unnatural vibe, that is empasised much more by the set and how it is painted. It is unlike anything you've seen before, especially considering the context, and as such it creates a particular kind of fear that is particular to nightmares and nightmare-like films. This is a type of fear that can only be conveyed through visuals.
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