Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Between the Shadows, June 1, 2006
Producer Val Lewton was forced to work with a small budget during his time with RKO, but faced with financial contraints and lack of star power, he hooked up with director Jacques Tourneur to create several horror films that many decades later are still considered the finest ever made in the genre. "Cat People" is one of those films. While "Curse of the Cat People" often gets lumped with these horror classics, this Robert Wise directed film is more fantasy and mood than horror.
Both Kent Smith and Jane Randolph return in this quasi-sequel but it is young Ann Carter as their daughter Amy who is at the center of this film. The memory of the tormented Irena hovers over every frame. Once again Simone Simon becomes a presence in the life of Reed when his young daughter Amy begins to retreat into a world of her own. But it may be more than mere fantasy despite her loving father's refusal to believe.
There is almost a magical and somewhat haunting feel to this exploration of a child's mind and what is real and what is not. Just as in "Cat People" where you ached to believe in the curse surrounding Irena (Simone Simon), Lewton and Wise create a bridge between Amy's imagination and Irena's presence we want desperately to believe in. This is a very special film with a mood unlike the horror films Lewton made. It stands on its own, however, and should not be dismissed.
A far different creature entirely is the original "Cat People." Lewton and Tourneur let the imagination of the viewer make up the horror, as everything is in the unseen. It was a device they would use in several films and it always worked. Lewton and Tourneur new that what we could imagine in our minds through cinematic suggestion was far worse than anything they could graphically show on screen.
Simone Simon, small and elegant, is perfect as the sweet Yugoslavian girl Irena Dubrovna, living in New York City and trying to fit in. Even after she meets and marries Oliver (Kent Smith) there is a shadow on her life which stands eerily between the happiness she desires and the curse she feels inside her.
A scene in a restaurant when "one of her own kind" recognizes the panther inside her is particularly unsettleing. Tom Conway is the doctor who tries to help and Jane Randolph has a nice part as Oliver's friend Alice. As Irene wrestles with her fear, Oliver begins to confide in Alice and it becomes obvious to Irena that there could be more. Irena's jealously may awaken the panther inside her and put all their lives in danger.
A film that is full of atmosphere and dripping with doom, there are some genuinely scary moments here. A scene late at night as Irena walks alone down the street, and a terrifying scene by a pool are both legendary. Simone Simon brought a fragile, and yes, cat like grace to the role. Tourneur lets the audience sense her fear and feel sorry for her tortured soul.
Both these films, while quite different in tone and with a distinctly different atmosphere, are excellent examples of how great cinema can become when it is stripped bare of pretension and forced to use story and filmmaking technique to capture its audience.
Watch "Curse of the Cat People" and enjoy it for the film it is rather than what it is not. As for the original "Cat People," watch this one late at night, but by all means, do not watch it alone!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twice The Cat-nip..., October 22, 2005
Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) was strolling through the zoo, minding his own business, when suddenly, there she was, sketching a black panther! Her name was Irena (Simone Simon). Oliver was immediately captivated by her, unable to think of anything / anyone else. What was it about this shy young girl? What secrets floated behind those eyes? Oliver soon married Irena. That's when the trouble began. CAT PEOPLE is Tourneur's masterwork of love, longing, guilt, and fear. Irena is a tragic figure, doomed by her own inner terrors and torments. Oliver loves her, but cannot understand Irena's beliefs or her obsessive dread over consummating their marriage. Does she really believe that she'll turn into a cat? How can she think this way and still be sane? Enter Dr. Judd (Tom "I Walked With A Zombie" Conway), a psychiatrist who sees Irena. He figures that it's all in her head. Is it? Oliver turns to his friend, Alice (Jane Randolph) for solice. Irena is suspicious and reveals who / what she truly is. This is one of those movies that uses strong characters and atmosphere to build suspense and tell the story. Irena is unforgettable! CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE takes place four years after Irena's final trip to the panther cage. Oliver and Alice are married and have a daughter. The little girl is very imaginative and has a "friend" that no one else can see. She meets an old woman who lives in a big house. The two are fast friends, causing great pain for the woman's own alienated daughter. Oliver is increasingly worried about his daughter's fantasy life, especially when she tells him that her invisible friend's name is Irena! I like this one a lot. Instead of being a typical sequel full of rushed ideas and hollywood garbage, COTCP is completely different in both storyline and approach. It's more of a ghost story through the eyes of a child. This double bill is well worth owning. Each film is a classic...
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Scariest Thing About this Movie is in Your Own Imagination..., September 15, 2006
Since usually my family is hogging the DVD player, I don't get to much of a chance to watch films, that are of the 'horror' genre. My wife in particular, hates these kind of films (some nonsense about "having bad dreams"). Well, the other night the wifey was out for the evening and the little one was safely tucked into bed. It was a perfect time to become a couch potato with a great, creepy DVD double feature of Val Lewton's "Cat People" and its' sequel, "The Curse of the Cat People". For those who don't know their film history, Lewton was the legendary Producer of a series of classic, low budget, horror/supernatural flicks for RKO Pictures in the 1940's. Because of their small budgets, these films depended more on good writing and haunting atmospherics, rather then the usual corny, special effects to scare audiences. Lewton's movies might have at the time been considered "B-films", but they were extremely well made and most effective. The first film is the classic "Cat People". In the film, Ollie Reed (Kent Smith) meets Serbian born, Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) at the panther cage of the local city zoo. She is a beautiful, yet lonely woman. The two become a couple and very soon are married. But their happiness is short lived. Irena seems obsessed with folk stories from her Serbian village's past about a race of evil people, who can change into cats. At first Ollie just laughs these obsessions off as a joke. But soon he realizes something is seriously wrong, when his new wife refuses to consummate their marriage out of fear, that her erotic passions will turn her into one of these feline creatures and kill him. Things become even more dangerous, when Ollie seeks emotional comfort from female co-worker, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph). The two soon realize they are being stalked by something. Is it a jealous Irena? A cat creature or just their imagination? The scariest thing about this movie is what you don't see. You hear strange cat-like sounds. You do see mysterious shadows. But you never really see the creature that is stalking these characters. Lewton and the film's Director, Jacques Tourneur make sure, that the viewers use their own imaginations, when it comes to the big moments of this film. The script (by DeWitt Bodean with Lewton's big imprint) is well written and emphasizes both human psychology and eroticism. It's pretty rare to find a film from the 'Hayes Office' movie era, that so frankly (and erotically) points out the sexual component of marriage. The cast to this film is fantastic. The beautiful actress, Simone Simon exudes a troubling sensuality, that just makes the title role. You don't know if she really is a 'Cat Person' or just plain nuts (or both)! Kudos should also go to fine performances from Jane Randolph as Ollie's romantic co-worker and Tom Conway as a 'wolfish' psychiatrist, who attempts to help Irena. Look out for a great cameo by a Elizabeth Russell, who plays a mysterious woman, cat-like in appearance, who twice, erotically whispers the word, "sister" to Irena at her small wedding party. What a movie! The sequel, "The Curse of the Cat People" is hardly a horror film, rather it is a film about human psychology with traces of what might be the supernatural. In the film, Ollie & Alice are now married and have a pretty, 6 year old girl named Amy (Ann Carter). Amy is a lonely child, who dosn't seem to fit in with other kids. She recieves a 'wishing ring' from a somewhat looney, old neighborhood woman (Julia Dean). Amy's wish is for a "Special Friend". The "Special Friend" comes to her in the form of the now deceased, Irena. She angelically befriends Amy to compensate the child's lonliness. The film looks at the power of the human mind. Is this really Irena? Or is it just the imagination of a little girl? Can the psychological hold that Irena's memory (or spirit) have on this family finally be broken? This is a very different type of film from it's predecessor, though it still works with the same psychological themes.I don't think the film has the same level of tension or suspense, but it is still a very interesting story. The script is well written and again the same actors give solid performances. Juvenile actress Ann Carter does a good job in the lead role as the troubled, lonely daughter. This DVD contains both films on one disc. Extras include the original trailers and excellent commentary tracks from film historian, Greg Mank. His commentaries include both the history of the productions and a well thought out analysis of both film's themes. For a night of classic horror and psychological supense, I would highly recommend "Cat People" and "The Curse of the Cat People".
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