Cat People (1982)

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Cast: Nastassja Kinski, Malcom McDowell, Annette O’Toole

Summary: A young and sexually naïve girl moves to New Orleans to meet her long lost brother who happens to be an incestuous werecat with a penchant for mauling hookers. The movie follows her as she tries to rein in her burgeoning sexuality and breasts. She gets them out a lot.

Interesting fact: I briefly worked for the studio that made Cat People, both the original and the remake. Unfortunately I didn’t swipe a copy of the movie before I left. Fortunately, it’s on Netflix. I had seen the original and was curious to see if the remake was merely a rehash. The original is highly regarded as one of the best classic horror movies around and is a landmark movie in the genre as a whole. The remake takes a different approach; it replaces a lot of the subtlety of the original with raw sex appeal.

Everything about this movie is designed to give the audience a gentleman/lady boner and it’s perfectly stylized to achieve that aim. Whether it’s Kinski’s lack of a bra in every scene, the awkwardly sexual dialogue, or the bondage scene, there is something for everyone. I suspect that the choice in location was not a coincidence either. The New Orleans setting just intensifies the level of arousal. It must be the humidity. The stand out scene in the whole movie is when Kinski takes a tour of the French Quarter. It’s almost like a sexual awakening. In my notes I wrote: ‘She’s idolized as the virgin. The Madonna. The morning haze perks her nipples as she seductively struts into a deserted Jackson Square.’ Damn, I should write erotic fiction. Or at least get me some more of the stuff I had when I watched this.

The erotic nature of the film is also mirrored by the movie’s soundtrack (fantastically headed by David Bowie’s Cat People) and camera work. There are a lot of things in this movie to keep you interested and entertained. The plot and acting can be a little hokey at times but the film manages to marry horror and gore with eroticism and it does so rather convincingly. There are times though when the image is shattered thanks to poor dialogue. For example: “I don’t believe in medicine.” I don’t think medicine is a matter of belief. Also: “I don’t eat meat”…followed by her eating oysters in the very next scene. Fortunately, these scenes are few and far between so they’re not too distracting.

Beyond eroticism, the movie functions quite well as a horror movie. It has this kind of campy grindhouse feel to it which is quite refreshing if you’re getting sick of the Paranormal Activity or Saw sagas. It has its gory moments but these are usually mixed with sex which makes them kind of bizarre. A memorable scene would be when a hooker is attacked and she falls down the stairs. As she hits the bottom, her bra magically decides to reveal her boobs then and there in a move which is either brilliant or sadistic, I haven’t decided yet. Either way, the juxtaposition of bonerisms with shock and fright definitely makes for an interesting film.

High-lights:

• The sex-appeal is overwhelming.
• The locations used in the film are visually mesmerizing and sexy. Jackson Square, the Lake Pontchartrain railroad bridge, Audubon Park. They all look beautiful.
• There are some intense injections of horror to keep you on your toes.

Downers:

• Despite the overall sexiness there are some major boner killers, including: the incest storyline, the broken hymen scene, Malcom McDowell’s face.
• Sometimes the plot and acting becomes a little cheesy.

Summary:

I had a lot of fun watching this movie. This is a great movie to watch by yourself for some much needed sexy alone fun times, or with a boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s like watching a mild porno with a plot so it feels a lot more legit. If you watch it as part of a group it might lead to some awkwardness. You’ll definitely want to watch this with a strain that’s going to keep you stimulated, both mentally and physically, and one that’s not going to induce couch-lock. It’s not the best movie out there and it’s not going to be one that will stick with you forever but it’s good choice when you’re looking to relax and get easily distracted.

7.5/10