Killer cats
 Apr 13th, 2008
Advantages:
Entertaining, easy to watch
Disadvantages:
Hard to take the plot too seriously
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
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  sunmeilan
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Professor Robert Miles lives in a picture-perfect English village, where he spends his time communing with the dead. He can also control his cat telepathically and uses this ability to wreak revenge on anyone who happens to annoy him. When people begin to die in mysterious ways, a Scotland Yard policeman arrives in the village, using the services of a passing American photographer to take photographs of the crime scenes. The American photographer notices scratch marks on both the Professor and the victims. Will she put two and two together and work out that the cat is responsible? And will anyone believe her if she tells them? Having read a number of reviews about horror films by an Italian director and writer called Lucio Fulci, I decided it was time I watched one of them myself. Perhaps because I have spent a large chunk of my life abroad, I am a bit of a sucker for anything that involves English village life and as this film is set in an English village, it was the obvious choice for my introduction to the world of Lucio Fulci. And, of course, a fellow reviewer had already recommended
it - thanks, Spencer.
Prior to the film starting, there were a number of trailers for other films of a similar genre and presumably distributed by the same company that distributes this one (Shameless). I have to admit, I started getting worried. I enjoy watching horror films, but some of the clips I was watching were a bit out of my comfort zone, involving what I will term as sexual horror, for want of a better word (for example, stabbing in the genital area). If this was a taster of things to come, would I even be able to watch the film? I needn't have worried. Black Cat is not without sex and nudity, but it is a very small part of the film and the 'horror' elements are tame compared to, for example, some of the Korean horror films I have seen. Based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, the film is about killer cats. As such, it almost goes without saying that the plot is a bit daft. Perhaps because I love cats so much myself, I couldn't bring myself to believe what I was seeing on the screen. This put me off a bit to begin with. However, once I had got used to the idea, I started watching the film from a different perspective, and began to enjoy it. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but there is quite a lot of black humour in the film and this made it very easy to watch. Plus the Englishness of the setting is stressed throughout - I don't know where it was filmed, but it really is picture-perfect, particularly the house in which the Professor lives.
Patrick Magee plays the Professor and I thought hammed the role up quite a bit. There were lots of looks of wide-eyed terror that told of the horrors yet to come. This was hardly the role of a lifetime, but it fitted in with the storyline and I enjoyed his appearances on screen. The American photographer played by Mimsy (yes, really) Farmer was much the same, but, being blonde and attractive, she didn't look as evil as the Professor. David Warbeck as the Scotland Yard detective probably gave the best performance - at least I found him the most credible character. But the star of the film is really the black cat, who slinks across rooftops and the tops of walls. Whoever trained him or her did a great job! The film is an 18, although I think this high a rating is perhaps unnecessary. There are some nasty bits - for example, one man dies by impaling himself, and we see the dead body of another victim when it is a few days old and has been nibbled by rats. The special effects are not perfect, but certainly good enough to be credible. Rather than relying on gore though, the film works by building up suspense - what will happen next - rather than constant gore. The old house that the Professor lives in, its spooky layout and dark passages, is used to particular effect. Another scene I thought was well done was where Jill, the photographer, is alone in her room when a mini hurricane hits her, sending everything in the room flying. The music also helps to set the atmosphere - the screechy music that accompanies the cat's slinking set my teeth on edge and freaked my cats out!
I have read the short story on which the film is based, but so long ago that I can't remember much about it. Fulci has obviously taken it out of its setting - the story was published in 1843 - which gives it a fresher appeal, but I don't think that this matters - the film entertains and the fact that it is based on a well-known short story is largely irrelevant. I did enjoy this film. It isn't a masterpiece, but nor does it pretend to be. I found it strangely very comforting, apart from the deaths, obviously. It is very English and not just because of the setting - I also felt that the humour was very English, which is perhaps odd considering Fulci's obvious Italian-ness. I cannot comment on whether this is particularly representative of his work, although I suspect not. But I do recommend the film, particularly to fans of horror/suspense with an English twist. Not a film to be taken too seriously.
The DVD is available from play.com for £9.99. Classification: 18
Running time: 92 minutes
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16.04.2008 12:51
I like 'old school' horrors where less was more, very-well reviewed, sounds like I might enjoy this.
15.04.2008 18:55
It sounds like a pretty good film, but not for me, I'm afraid.
15.04.2008 17:00
This sounds like a crazy film, can't wait to see it. I love cats!