Cat People (1982)Leopards are worshiped in some remote communities in the wilds of western Africa. Among the Asante, killing a leopard is considered a capital offense. Animal worship has its roots in humanity's innate capacity for pattern recognition and empathy. That is, we identify characteristics of ourselves in animals. Consider that a cat may purr for any number of reasons, including excitement or when its concentrating...or maybe we just project that onto them. We see aspects of ourselves in cats. What if our connection was deeper than that? What if cats and people were one and the same, and all of the wild characteristics that felines possess transferred over to us?
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Cat People (1982) is a thriller about a young woman Irena Gallier (Nastassja Kinski) who comes to New Orleans to reunite with her brother, Paul (Malcolm McDowell); they have been separated since early childhood and used to live in a travelling circus. But Paul's behavior toward Irena is strange, even uncomfortable--and then he goes missing. At the same time, a rogue black leopard attacks a prostitute, and zoo curator Oliver Yates (John Heard) is called in to subdue the beast, taking it into captivity; but this is no ordinary beast. There are several clues early on that establish that Paul is actually a werecat, and has transformed into the rampaging black leopard (actually a dyed cougar). First is a visual one that appears to have been inspired by Psycho. Shortly after Irena arrives and night falls, Paul exchanges his white shirt for a black one, signifying a metaphorical journey into darkness. He then creeps into her room and perches on the edge of her bed, leaping up from the ground like a cat. (Apparently, McDowell actually jumped backwards off of the bed, and the scene was played back in reverse.) Incidentally, Malcolm McDowell at his most bemused always looks like the proverbial cat who caught the canary, so I'm sure that was a factor in his casting. There are plenty of mysteries about Paul, which Irena investigates after he goes missing, if only on a superficial level. For example, how did he come to keep company with his compatriot, Female (Ruby Dee)--pronounced "fee-mahl-ay"--or how did he end up in New Orleans, a sultry city with a reputation for being full of mystery, or even haunted. But the only true supernatural element in Cat People is the lycanthropy, which doesn't get identified as such until about halfway through the movie, when the missing Paul returns and explains to Irena the history of their "breeding".
Directed by Paul Schrader, Cat People is a remake of the 1942 movie of the same name directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton...only sexed up a bit more. Presented as an "erotic thriller", this Cat People is more of a psychological horror movie than one that emphasizes blood and gore, with a few noteworthy exceptions, like the unfortunate fate of a young zookeeper named Joe (Ed Begley Jr.), who gets his arm ripped off by the Paul-leopard. The film's eroticism seems solely confined to Irena's blossoming relationship with Oliver, and their relationship is cautious at first. There are more than a few suggestions that Irena is also a werecat, and not just the way she springs up into a tree when Oliver finds her on the zoo property after hours. Unlike the assertive virility of Paul--in keeping with his "tomcat" persona--Irena is apprehensive, even skittish with her sexuality. She befriends Oliver's other work colleague (and perhaps a former fling), Alice Perrin (Annette O'Toole), and the two have a frank conversation about former lovers after work at a bar. Irena is obviously a virgin and tells Alice that this is because she is waiting for that "special someone". Noble, but false. Paul sees through her chastity as a defense mechanism, because he knows what she really is. He relates to her the story of their ancestors, that they sacrificed children to the black leopards, and somehow this led to their unique brand of lycanthropy, where they become panthers after mating, and can only transform back after killing. It is a concept so neat and tidy for an "erotic thriller", that it sounds designed for that express purpose. Most of Cat People centers on the terror of Paul rampaging through New Orleans, building to a mid-movie climax where he is shot by Oliver. In Irena's grief, she and Oliver make love and she transforms into a black leopard herself. It is here that Irena seems to have come to terms with her predatory (and jealous) side, stalking Alice in a fashion lifted right from the original film, even recreating the famous swimming pool scene (albeit with a bare-chested Alice because "erotic thriller"). There are other nods to the original film--even if they make little to no sense in this one--like the woman who approaches Irena and calls her "sister". What might have been an opportunity to explore another side of the story via this incidental character instead feels misplaced, or just plain weird.
Cat People is a bit of an odd duck of a horror movie. It borrows from its progenitor heavily, but also wants to be a true "werewolf" (or "werecat") movie, emulating aspects of other similar horror movies. Take Irena's transformation, which has echoes of An American Werewolf in London, but with none of the humor. The way her body contorts and the practical special effects are so similar that you'd be forgiven for thinking that 1982 was full of movies showing people transform into beasts under the right circumstances. The setting (New Orleans) is perfect for showcasing all of the creepy, supernatural nooks and crannies it is known for, but this movie only goes so far as to take us to the zoo, the airport, or the odd cemetery; it feels like a missed opportunity. (Compare this with Don't Look Now and how that movie makes the crumbling necropolis of Venice intrinsic to the story, and you'll see what I mean.) The one exception to this is when Oliver takes Irena out on a boat to a shack on stilts in the shallows for an intimate retreat, but this doesn't feel so much like New Orleans as it resembles just any other wetlands in the southern United States. The eroticism in Cat People also feels flat; aside from a lack of chemistry between Heard and Kinski, there is the sense that this remake is desperate to be faithful to the spirit of the original and the "slow burn" dread that made it great, but feels contractually obligated to uphold its own claims to be an erotic thriller. To this end, scenes which the original (e.g. the swimming pool scene) that didn't feel compelled to feature nudity makes its presence here feel like either a token inclusion for the sake of form or an inside joke for film buffs. It would be nice to watch Cat People and conclude that after Paul's death, Irena experiences a "sexual awakening" where she becomes more in tune with her animal urges. But the film fails to make that milestone the actual trigger for introducing eroticism into Cat People, like when she strides out of Oliver's cabin and disrobes completely before stalking a rabbit with feral hunger before Paul's last stand. (Never mind that they had to take a boat to get to the cabin's entrance in the first place.) Something that stands out as truly distinct in Cat People is the musical score composed by Giorgio Moroder, with a title track by David Bowie. This is most pronounced during the opening credits, depicting a seemingly alien landscape with red sands littered with the bones of sacrifices. But like this preamble, the score fades into the background too much. It would be more exciting if what we see and hear from the start was the kind of bold and imaginative film we could expect for the rest of it, instead of the nigh-slavishly adherent to expectations one that we get.
Recommended for: Fans of a psycho-thriller that deals with werecats and arousal, just not in as great of detail as it deserves. Cat People would probably be most enjoyable for those who have already seen the original, even if it is dressed up with its "modern" sensibilities. Yet for a film that describes itself as "erotic", it says precious little of import about sexuality, either human or feline.
Directed by Paul Schrader, Cat People is a remake of the 1942 movie of the same name directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton...only sexed up a bit more. Presented as an "erotic thriller", this Cat People is more of a psychological horror movie than one that emphasizes blood and gore, with a few noteworthy exceptions, like the unfortunate fate of a young zookeeper named Joe (Ed Begley Jr.), who gets his arm ripped off by the Paul-leopard. The film's eroticism seems solely confined to Irena's blossoming relationship with Oliver, and their relationship is cautious at first. There are more than a few suggestions that Irena is also a werecat, and not just the way she springs up into a tree when Oliver finds her on the zoo property after hours. Unlike the assertive virility of Paul--in keeping with his "tomcat" persona--Irena is apprehensive, even skittish with her sexuality. She befriends Oliver's other work colleague (and perhaps a former fling), Alice Perrin (Annette O'Toole), and the two have a frank conversation about former lovers after work at a bar. Irena is obviously a virgin and tells Alice that this is because she is waiting for that "special someone". Noble, but false. Paul sees through her chastity as a defense mechanism, because he knows what she really is. He relates to her the story of their ancestors, that they sacrificed children to the black leopards, and somehow this led to their unique brand of lycanthropy, where they become panthers after mating, and can only transform back after killing. It is a concept so neat and tidy for an "erotic thriller", that it sounds designed for that express purpose. Most of Cat People centers on the terror of Paul rampaging through New Orleans, building to a mid-movie climax where he is shot by Oliver. In Irena's grief, she and Oliver make love and she transforms into a black leopard herself. It is here that Irena seems to have come to terms with her predatory (and jealous) side, stalking Alice in a fashion lifted right from the original film, even recreating the famous swimming pool scene (albeit with a bare-chested Alice because "erotic thriller"). There are other nods to the original film--even if they make little to no sense in this one--like the woman who approaches Irena and calls her "sister". What might have been an opportunity to explore another side of the story via this incidental character instead feels misplaced, or just plain weird.
Cat People is a bit of an odd duck of a horror movie. It borrows from its progenitor heavily, but also wants to be a true "werewolf" (or "werecat") movie, emulating aspects of other similar horror movies. Take Irena's transformation, which has echoes of An American Werewolf in London, but with none of the humor. The way her body contorts and the practical special effects are so similar that you'd be forgiven for thinking that 1982 was full of movies showing people transform into beasts under the right circumstances. The setting (New Orleans) is perfect for showcasing all of the creepy, supernatural nooks and crannies it is known for, but this movie only goes so far as to take us to the zoo, the airport, or the odd cemetery; it feels like a missed opportunity. (Compare this with Don't Look Now and how that movie makes the crumbling necropolis of Venice intrinsic to the story, and you'll see what I mean.) The one exception to this is when Oliver takes Irena out on a boat to a shack on stilts in the shallows for an intimate retreat, but this doesn't feel so much like New Orleans as it resembles just any other wetlands in the southern United States. The eroticism in Cat People also feels flat; aside from a lack of chemistry between Heard and Kinski, there is the sense that this remake is desperate to be faithful to the spirit of the original and the "slow burn" dread that made it great, but feels contractually obligated to uphold its own claims to be an erotic thriller. To this end, scenes which the original (e.g. the swimming pool scene) that didn't feel compelled to feature nudity makes its presence here feel like either a token inclusion for the sake of form or an inside joke for film buffs. It would be nice to watch Cat People and conclude that after Paul's death, Irena experiences a "sexual awakening" where she becomes more in tune with her animal urges. But the film fails to make that milestone the actual trigger for introducing eroticism into Cat People, like when she strides out of Oliver's cabin and disrobes completely before stalking a rabbit with feral hunger before Paul's last stand. (Never mind that they had to take a boat to get to the cabin's entrance in the first place.) Something that stands out as truly distinct in Cat People is the musical score composed by Giorgio Moroder, with a title track by David Bowie. This is most pronounced during the opening credits, depicting a seemingly alien landscape with red sands littered with the bones of sacrifices. But like this preamble, the score fades into the background too much. It would be more exciting if what we see and hear from the start was the kind of bold and imaginative film we could expect for the rest of it, instead of the nigh-slavishly adherent to expectations one that we get.
Recommended for: Fans of a psycho-thriller that deals with werecats and arousal, just not in as great of detail as it deserves. Cat People would probably be most enjoyable for those who have already seen the original, even if it is dressed up with its "modern" sensibilities. Yet for a film that describes itself as "erotic", it says precious little of import about sexuality, either human or feline.