Monday, October 22, 2007
Curse of the Cat People
So I borrowed the Val Lewton box set off of my brother Scott. Last night I watched Cat People, he had warned me that it was a slow film and that nothing really happened at all. That is the way to watch that film, with much lowered expectations, it's got some mood and a couple of fairly tense scenes but overall not much happens I rated it a C+ probably that high because I wasn't expecting anything to happen so I paid more attention to the characters and as a slightly silly drama it worked to a point. But it's not the sort of thing the kids are gonna be able to stay awake through or get anything out of.
Now I'm not actually getting on the blog to bash Cat People. what I am working up to is a few thoughts on The Curse of the Cat People. Is it a sequel? yes. It has three of the same characters all played by the same actors as the original. It picks up the story of the survivors from the first film, and doesn't assume the things that happened in the first didn't. But while Cat People was suposed to be a horror film, or at least checked into motel rooms under the pretext of being one, The Curse of the Cat People never really attempts to lead you down the path of pretending to be a horror film. In fact aside from the title there isn't really a mention of Cat People. I don't know why they even called it The Curse of the Cat People. In Cat People at least it appears that someone turns into a cat and we see a panther. I can imagine a lot of angry young boys coming out of The Curse of the Cat People on a Saturday afternoon. Because The Curse of the Cat People doesn't have thrills, it has heart. It doesn't have chills it has story and character and the ability to move you. Most of all it has a little girl who pulls you into her world and at times breaks your heart. Young horror movie fans are not the audience for this film, parents are. Now the bummer is that I think you benefit from seeing Cat People first you get to know the girls parents in that film, and understand that they are good decent people. also you get to know Irena The husbands first wife, who plays a much different and unrelated part in this story. So Watch the Cat people, with lowered expectations, you may be pleasently surprised. Then pop in the Curse of the Cat People and watch it with such heightened expectations that it'll never have a chance to work for you. Damn, why is it like that?
Now I'm not actually getting on the blog to bash Cat People. what I am working up to is a few thoughts on The Curse of the Cat People. Is it a sequel? yes. It has three of the same characters all played by the same actors as the original. It picks up the story of the survivors from the first film, and doesn't assume the things that happened in the first didn't. But while Cat People was suposed to be a horror film, or at least checked into motel rooms under the pretext of being one, The Curse of the Cat People never really attempts to lead you down the path of pretending to be a horror film. In fact aside from the title there isn't really a mention of Cat People. I don't know why they even called it The Curse of the Cat People. In Cat People at least it appears that someone turns into a cat and we see a panther. I can imagine a lot of angry young boys coming out of The Curse of the Cat People on a Saturday afternoon. Because The Curse of the Cat People doesn't have thrills, it has heart. It doesn't have chills it has story and character and the ability to move you. Most of all it has a little girl who pulls you into her world and at times breaks your heart. Young horror movie fans are not the audience for this film, parents are. Now the bummer is that I think you benefit from seeing Cat People first you get to know the girls parents in that film, and understand that they are good decent people. also you get to know Irena The husbands first wife, who plays a much different and unrelated part in this story. So Watch the Cat people, with lowered expectations, you may be pleasently surprised. Then pop in the Curse of the Cat People and watch it with such heightened expectations that it'll never have a chance to work for you. Damn, why is it like that?
