Customer Reviews

Cat's Eye [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Stephen King ( whom wrote the screenplay for this movie) brings you three terrifying tales of horror done in the "Creepshow" style as told from the eyes of a traveling stray cat. The first story " Quitters Inc." is about a family man ( James Woods) who just can't stop smoking as he signs up for a program called "Quitters Inc." which secretly monitors his smoking habit, the next tale is in Atlantic city called " The Ledge" which a tennis player makes a bet with a boss to walk a hotel ledge. Then finally our title cat in " The General" must protect a young girl ( Drew Barrymore)from an evil goblin who wants her soul.

Entertaining and well-made collection of comic-book stories with Hitchcock-esque and Twilight Zone-esque tones to them. Good acting and some good special effects for it's time especially the goblin make this worth watching.

Highly recommended if you enjoy the works of Stephen King, Creepshow 1 & 2 and Tales from The Darkside: The Movie.

P.S.: Look for cameo's by Stephen King's other famous characters like " Cujo" and "Christine".

I watched Cat's Eye last night, for the first time in at least 15 years, and I'm happy to say it STILL doesn't disappoint. Not as dated as you'd expect after all this time either. Cat's Eye isn't scary, though has some suspenseful moments. I don't think anyone would be scared except small children (in particular for the last story) but they shouldn't be watching this sort of thing anyway.

As a smoker, the Quitters Inc. segment made me wish they had some sort of smoking cessation program such as. And for the gambling segment, I about died when he kicks the pigeon! Hilarious! The final story is also quite fun with the little monster. If you're looking for something unusual to keep you entertained, give this movie a try. It's a classic!

Just re-watched it on video. Here it is 14 years later and the effects and stories still hold up! Quitters, inc is my favorite. Beware the awful guy-falling-off-roof effect shot. I've seen better effects pushing on my eyes!

As with most anthology movies, this 1985 flick is rather uneven regarding the quality of the various stories within. Scripted by THE modern horror-meister himself, CAT'S EYE (a.k.a. STEPHEN KING'S CAT'S EYE) features adaptations of two of King's previously published short stories and one original tale, all tied together with a feline-centric wraparound.

The first segment, "Quitter's Inc.," is a dark comedy in which a chronic smoker (James Woods) engages the services of an professional firm to help him break his nasty habit, but he doubts his decision when he learns that the organization's CEO (Alan King) is a former Mob boss who utilizes the "techniques" of his previous profession to "help" current clients. This is definitely the strongest of the three tales.

Segment two, "The Ledge," again involves an underworld kingpin (Kenneth McMillan), this time one who forces his wife's lover (Robert Hays) to engage in a questionable bet. Not as clever nor as interesting as the first story, but not too bad either.

"The General," the final segment of the trio, is about an abnormally intelligent cat who, despite protests from the mother (Candy Clark), "adopts" a family and moves into their rural home. Unbenknownst to the humans, the feline's raison d'etre is to defend the daughter (Drew Barrymore) from the attacks of a wicked woodland troll who has also claimed squatting rights in the home. Definitely the weakest of the three stories--and thematically out of step with the other two--though the animatronics FX for the wee creature are kinda cool.

The final segment is also meant to be the climax of the wraparound, but that might be rather unclear to some viewers. Director Lewis Teague has claimed that the wraparound's prologue was originally longer and made its connection to "The General" much more obvious, but the resulting ambiguity was created by studio-enforced cuts beyond Lewis' control. Pity. The overall movie might have been more cohesive if studio suits had kept their scissors away from the director's and screenwriter's joint vision.

CAT'S EYE is not the best film based on the works of Stephen King, to be sure, but it is still a well-made and entertaining diversion. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is excellent, the editing is top-notch, and the pacing of the stories is good. And director Teague--who earlier directed CUJO (1983), another King adaptation--elicits great performances from most of the cast. Genre buffs, especially fans of writer King, will enjoy spotting all of the self-referential--and often humorously self-deprecating--in-jokes (which include the killer car Christine and a clip from 1983's THE DEAD ZONE, among others). Also watch for the very brief appearance of actor Charles S. Dutton in one of his first screen appearances.

The DVD from Warner seems about as low-budget as the film itself, but it still offers a nice digital transfer of the film in anamorphic widescreen. And unlike a lot of Warner cheapies, there is also an informative feature commentary with director Teague. Well worth amazon.com's VERY reasonable price of admission.

I think it is odd that people view this movie as a horror and then get upset by it. The movie cannot be completely categorized in any one genre since each story attempts to create a different mood. The only pervasive style, however, is dark comedy.

The first segment is nothing but humor, with a slight touch of morbid moments. A good example of the type of humor that's in this story is when James Woods' character has tried to quit smoking and he goes to a party. The room is completely smoke-filled and everybody offers him a cigarette every three seconds. Soon, he starts to hallucinate--and sees a giant pack of cigarettes walking around and taunting him. Obviously, this isn't horror.

The second segment is the most serious of all three. It is supposed to be a suspense story, and it is mostly successful. I've always enjoyed it, but given that it is surrounded by much campier material, it seems out of place here.

The third segment is an adventure story. It could, because of the presence of the troll, be considered a horror by some viewers, but it is incredibly silly. It's the story of a cat fighting out a duel with a little monster, replete with Howie-Mandel-esque voice-overs. It alternates quickly between humor and adventure, but it is not scary unless you are a small child.

The movie suffers only for two reasons: one is that some special effects shots have suffered greatly (although quite a few are still amazing). The other is that whenever the movie does try to be serious, it never works as well as it should. It's like watching a clown do a routine with seltzer water, and then trying to recite a soliloquy from "Hamlet" without changing his make-up. By the time the movie does reach its more serious moments, you'll already be in a laughing mood.

Three short films in one long film tied up by the perigrination of a cat looking for the girl who is going to adopt it as a pet. The cat will find the girl. The first adventure reveals the obsession of smoking in a society that considers that activity as a quasi-crime. Some people are ready to do anything to quit and the society is also ready to do anything to force the reluctant candidates to quitting to quit. The procedure is to punish the people the smoker loves to make him - in this film it is only men that are concerned, and we do have to question why - quit and stick to his decision. This reveals a society that has privatized such a mission and this mission becomes criminal in its own way, even if the ethical aim is to be considered. To torture innocent people may be effective but it is unethical in all possible ways. The second adventure has to do with betting among high life criminals : the rich who make their dough from all kinds of illegal activities, such as drugs. And what happens when the stake of the bet is the wife of one crook ? Criminal challenges, murder and vengeance. Breath taking and unbearable for people who suffer of vertigo. Funny too in the reversal of the situation from one vengeance to the next. The third story is more humane and dark at the same time. Cats are nice pets but here a mother has a fixation against such an animal and is ready to do anything to get rid of it. But cats are obstinate and children, here a girl, are also very powerfully determined to get their ways. The « Kobold » is absolutely charming in its evilness though I prefer the good « Kobolds » I have met so often in germanic traditions. But its end is definitely Dante-like. There must be a special hell for these vicious and obnoxious beings that only want to hurt and wound if not even kill poor little defenseless children. But cats are definitely not defenseless, far from it. Careful with children : to watch such a film might give them nightmares with many boogeymen in them.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Our local membership store was selling this for $3.36 and, as the neighborhood cat person, I bought it solely on that basis. We're not Steven King fans but my wife & I both liked this film. If nothing else, you have to appreciate the talent of the people who trained the cat(cats?) for a very significant role, especially in the last story. Using the cat's perilous journey to save a young girl as the anchor to tie the three stories together worked well. The acting was, for the most part, excellent although the young Drew Berrymore didn't show the level of terror you'd expect in her situation. As a child actor, though, you can forgive that.

Cat people could like the film based on the cat actor alone and be pleasantly surprised to find it's also a truly good film. We now have hope that Cookie & Phoebe will save us from the monster in our walls.

Another great anthology from Stephen King (Creepshow)! This time out we get 3 dark stories of the bizarre, all tied together by a cat that's trying to get from NYC to North Carolina to save a girl in distress. QUITTERS INC. is about a poor schmuck (James Woods) who is convinced by a friend to try a new cigarette smoking termination program. What he doesn't know is that the founder was a mafia-type, and that mob tactics are used in order to make people quit their nasty habit! Alan King is perfect as the guy who will utilize any / all methods of persuasion at his disposal to keep his clients honest; including abduction, torture, and bodily mutilation! Next is THE LEDGE, about a washed up tennis pro (Robert Hays) who is given a deadly ultimatum by the mob boss who's tired of him sleeping with his wife. He can either get busted for the heroin that's been planted in the trunk of his car, or walk all the way around the outside of the building on the five inch ledge that's about a hundred feet above the ground! This is an excellent story of twisty revenge. Finally, we have the third segment with a young Drew Barrymore (E.T., Firestarter) as a little girl who has an evil troll living in her bedroom wall. In this one the cat emerges as the hero. Candy Clark (American Graffiti) is exasperating as the mom who thinks the kitty is up to no good and almost keeps it from saving her daughter's life! CAT'S EYE is well done and well worth owning...

This is a great movie. Especially for a Stephen King or James Woods fan. And im both. The film follows a stray cat as he wanders south from NYC to North Carolina as he sees three different incidents happen. Great fun! But one note to a reviewer, why would u expect good effects from a film from 1985? Look for that awsome Police song during Quitters Inc.

It saddens me that this film was not a box office success. It's one that I can wath over and over again, and will always have fond memories of. The framing device is a stray tom cat that is visited twice, in some of the more surreal moments of the film, by the spirit of a young girl, (8-year-old Drew Barrymore,) who is, in fact, still alive. (Perhaps she visits the cat while asleep, in her dreams.) The first two stories a non-horror, non- supernatural, (unless you count the scenes where the girl appears,) cliff hanger stories, in the vein of REAR WINDOW and NORTH BY NORTHWEST. The first is about a company that helps smokers quit, no matter what the cost. The second is about an ex- tennis pro who, after being caught trying to run off with a mob boss' wife, is forced to walk a five inch ledge at the top of a twenty-story building. The last segment is the horrific supernatural tale, when the cat finds the girl, Amanda, just in time, as a miniture troll is about to sneak into her room and suck her life force while she's asleep. However, this isn't really any scaryier than GREMLINS, and it might help to watch it as more of a comedy during the scenes with the troll. Still, a film not to be missed.