Customer Reviews

Black Cat

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The esteemed 1843 story of psychological distress by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Black Cat", has been utilized as somewhat of a substructure for numerous interpretations upon film, of which several are generally considered to be worthy of audience attention, even in those cases when any connection to the Poe original is tenuous at best, but such will not apply in the instance of this flabbily assembled version that is substandard in virtually all production characteristics, a condition that must be charged to its director who is additionally credited as the work's producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. Poe's tale, related in the first person, depicts a man who is trapped within a web woven from his morbid imagination, a state that brings about insanity along with the commission of violent actions, and here director Rodnunsky attempts to craft a style of narrative that will include elements from its model, but it fails to come off due to a meandering story line that envisions characters switching personalities, with a result that their identities become an equivocal compound of invention and reality. Jack (Shaun Kurtz) reports to local police that his wife and their teenage son are missing, and is then held and sequestered for questioning in the matter at a police station, the investigative process being under the personal supervision of a detective named Eleanor, who leads a careful search of Jack's home, whereupon the film becomes a general muddle of inexplicable events as Eleanor, upon petting the family's black cat, may (or may not) be hallucinating that she is involved in a romantic and very physical relationship with Jack's absent wife, although numerous ostensible flashbacks would seem to indicate that Eleanor's past existence has in some manner been melded with that of Jack. Or something of that sort. Building upon a confusing plot, there are two "surprise" endings, but each is denied impact because of a dearth of technical assurance from the production, including piteous post-production ADR work that induces drastically inept syncing. Editing for the picture is largely slipshod, combining with sloppy videotape camera-work to beget an irksome viewing experience that is exacerbated by consistently off-the-mark dialogue, despite an attempt by Kurtz to create his role. The director's penchant for closeups of his principal players is not to the advantage of these performers, two of whom are listed within the opening and closing credits as having different names than those displayed upon the DVD package. Voiceovers by the female lead, reading several lines from the Poe work that are en-scripted upon the screen during the film's opening and closing moments, are in essence the sole artistically satisfying ingredients to be found during the course of this tedious mishmash.

Poe's famous short story "The Black Cat" has been filmed numerous times in the movie history, and in making it a feature film, writer/director Serge Rodnunsky added considerable amount of materials to the original. But that is inevitable because the original short story consists about 10 pages or less, depending on your edition, and we know we all have to add something to the source material. The point is, however, what to add and how to do it. In this respect, this version of "Black Cat" (no "the" added) is very disappointing mainly because of its confusing script.

This is a modernized version of Poe's classic story set in some small town (probably in America), but the location is not specified. For this adaptation they added a story of a female detective Eleanor Wyman investigating the case of the missing wife and the son of one guy named Jack. Moreover, Detective Wyman finds herself so engrossed in the case (perhaps under the influence of a black cat's curse) that she starts to assume another personality whose existence is deeply related to the missing lady.

Modernizing the original is not a bad idea; the real problem is the added material that virtually takes over the whole film and becomes the main plot. The mysterious relations or dual personalities including the cat (and yes, I noticed she is wearing a black dress) might be interesting with a more coherent script, but the characters are one (or two) too many and so are the twists. And after all, I asked myself watching this: "Why should they use the name of Poe when it is substantially different?" What is the point of watching two (half-naked) ladies in shower room?

Actually you can find here the very ingredients that consist of the story of a strange black cat - wall of the basement, axe, noose, etc. - but none of them are used in effective way. When something happens, the camera begins to shake and move when it doesn't have to and its fast editing only makes us dizzy. As to the climax of Poe's story, the ominous, purring voice of the cat from you know where, the film simply won't let you know what is going on.

Interestingly, IMDb (so far) does not credit the name of Poe as the writer of the film though DVD has his name on its back cover - "Based on the terrifying tale by Edger Allan Poe...." True, it is based on Poe, but the relation is tenuous at best.

What a wonderful presentation and without any padding. This DVD shows St Petersburg as a visitor would see it but also gets inside the subjects and explains the history. I was bowled over by the quality of the photography and very impressed by the commentary. I had visited St Petes only last year and this was like a repeat visit. The overheads were awesome and the concentration was on the main points of interest to any tourist. Vladimir and Natalia have captured the city so well that at the end you feel you have made the journey yourself. Allen Breen Sydney Australia

Horrible is too nice of a word to describe this movie and poor Poe had his good name associated with this shotty attempt at telling a modern version of his story. Unfortunately, the acting was unconvincing and the dialog that was chosen for the actors was ridiculous. Every other word in the script was F***. To make matters worse, the filming was completely annoying and the style of the presentation as a whole was a joke. You could literally fast forward through this movie and know who is going to solve what without even having an inkling as to how the story goes (or was supposed to be told). The main investigator goes into a trance and becomes the killer in the movie (seeing visions) and they have the actress play the part of the male killer during those visions. They show you everything in those constant visions and then bore and annoy you by making the investigator have no recollection of the visions and you have to put up with watching the investigators attempt to solve the mystery, more visions and more of the F-word and tons of gore. It was pathetic. Not to mention the correlation between Poe's story and this one really isn't there. Oh and the black cat--you have to put up with idiotic still shots of the black cat sitting on the floor here and there--apparently those shots are meant to make you believe the cat is evil. Didn't work. This story was pathetic and I strongly encourage you not to waste your time on it.

Nominally based on the Poe story, this film finds a pair of detectives trying to discover how and why a man's wife and son have disappeared. Those familiar with the Poe story already have a pretty good idea where the two are, but the film deviates from the putative source in substantial ways, thus laying the course for an ending that the story does not contemplate. In addition, there are puzzling scenes in which one of the detectives, played by Shawna Erickson, seems to view scenes from inside the suspect husband's body, including a moderately intimate shower scene with the missing wife.

At the core of the film, of course, is the script, both a strength and weakness here. The strength of the script is its imaginative structure, which leads to an effective twist ending. The major difficulty in the script, though, is its hackneyed nature. Part of that flaw is no doubt because of the budget, which must have been small. The police station, for instance, seems to have no people in it except for the two detectives and the suspect. The interrogation room looks suspiciously like a conference room at a law firm, complete with a bookcase filled with books, hardly the sort of thing one wants around a potential murder suspect who is not in handcuffs. One learns, however, to overlook things like these, not just in small-budget films but in blockbusters.

The cast here is certainly competent but not great. There are a few times when the fact that they are acting is apparent; some gestures seem forced, and the dialogue is sometimes stilted and delivered awkwardly. Nonetheless, the three actors at the heart of the film, notably Erickson, were compelling enough to keep me watching until the end, at which time the twist made the ride worth the ninety or so minutes I spent watching.

This film certainly is not a five-star effort, for to give it such a rating would be to put it on the level of the truly great films. But it is far from a one-star disaster. It is, like most films, somewhere in the middle. But that middle is vast, and this film does stand out because there is an obvious intelligence at the core. Yes, the film has flaws, but it is also a mystery, one that invites the viewer to try to unravel the clues. Did the suspect husband kill his wife and son? Why do the filmmakers use the technique of showing the detective seeing things through the husband's eyes? This latter question is the key to the film.

With the twist ending to which I alluded earlier, this film invites comparisons to similar films. The Sixth Sense comes to mind. So does the very independent film Unhinged. "Black Cat" falls in the middle (but closer to the former), not quite as faithful to its twist as "The Sixth Sense" since some of the prelude here does not fully fit with the ending and better than "Unhinged" since this film is so much easier to watch.

THIS IS A DIFFERENT MOVIE.I DIDN'T LIKE IT.IT WAS BORING!THERE WAS NO EXCITEMENT OR SUSPENSE.THERE WAS NOTHING!THE BLACK CAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!

Nominally based on the Poe story, this film finds a pair of detectives trying to discover how and why a man's wife and son have disappeared. Those familiar with the Poe story already have a pretty good idea where the two are, but the film deviates from the putative source in substantial ways, thus laying the course for an ending that the story does not contemplate. In addition, there are puzzling scenes in which one of the detectives, played by Shawna Erickson, seems to view scenes from inside the suspect husband's body, including a moderately intimate shower scene with the missing wife.

At the core of the film, of course, is the script, both a strength and weakness here. The strength of the script is its imaginative structure, which leads to an effective twist ending. The major difficulty in the script, though, is its hackneyed nature. Part of that flaw is no doubt because of the budget, which must have been small. The police station, for instance, seems to have no people in it except for the two detectives and the suspect. The interrogation room looks suspiciously like a conference room at a law firm, complete with a bookcase filled with books, hardly the sort of thing one wants around a potential murder suspect who is not in handcuffs. One learns, however, to overlook things like these, not just in small-budget films but in blockbusters.

The cast here is certainly competent but not great. There are a few times when the fact that they are acting is apparent; some gestures seem forced, and the dialogue is sometimes stilted and delivered awkwardly. Nonetheless, the three actors at the heart of the film, notably Erickson, were compelling enough to keep me watching until the end, at which time the twist made the ride worth the ninety or so minutes I spent watching.

This film certainly is not a five-star effort, for to give it such a rating would be to put it on the level of the truly great films. But it is far from a one-star disaster. It is, like most films, somewhere in the middle. But that middle is vast, and this film does stand out because there is an obvious intelligence at the core. Yes, the film has flaws, but it is also a mystery, one that invites the viewer to try to unravel the clues. Did the suspect husband kill his wife and son? Why do the filmmakers use the technique of showing the detective seeing things through the husband's eyes? This latter question is the key to the film.

With the twist ending to which I alluded earlier, this film invites comparisons to similar films. "The Sixth Sense" comes to mind. So does the very independent film "Unhinged." "Black Cat" falls in the middle (but closer to the former), not quite as faithful to its twist as "The Sixth Sense" since some of the prelude here does not fully fit with the ending and better than "Unhinged" since this film is so much easier to watch.

Detective Eleanor Wyman (Shawna Erickson) sits up all night while we have to listen to that same independent film type of sound track play over and over and over. She is trying to find out what happened to Jack's wife and child that have mysteriously disappeared. The dialog is more stilted than an old Badge 714 TV program. In the process people exchange places and personalities. Only the cat seems to be sane in the movie until it meets an untimely demise (the horror part).

Screen play by Serge Rodnunsky; where Edgar Alan Poe comes into play is anybody's guess.

If you do not have a fast forward device I suggest you go out for a while and let the movie play to an empty room.

I enjoyed this movie a great deal. This movie has a great pace, that accurately captures the story as it was intended when it was written. Would watch this movie over and over again.