Cat People - Review by Author Kerry L. Marzock

CAT PEOPLE

I am definitely drawn more towards werewolf movies and even more towards those movies where the creature actually shape shifts into the body of a wolf, very cool.  However, there was an older movie, “Cat People”, first released in 1942 staring Simone Simon as Irena Gallier, which was quite interesting.  It was a dark, moody, eerie, an almost surreal, campy-type of movie where Irena shifted into a beautiful black panther.  In the original movie, the horror was more implied and, of course, Simone Simon was a very dark, smokey, campy-type of actress. 

The remake was released in April 1982 and starred the beautiful Natassia Kinski, along with the very dark actor Malcolm McDowell (as Paul, Irena’s brother), John Heard (curator Oliver Yates), Annette O’Toole (Alice Perrin), and Ed Begley, Jr. (Joe Creigh).  Alice and Joe were Oliver’s curator assistants.  There was also Ruby Dee who played Paul’s housekeeper.  Descended from a very old line of ‘cat people’, Irena and Paul turn into black panthers (mostly after they mate) and then **ugh** must kill in order to revert back to human form once more.  Even though Paul has known of his ancestry for years, and who primarily preys on hookers, Irena is completely unaware of being a panther. 

After having sex with a hooker and killing her in a hotel room, the cat finds himself trapped in animal form because the hooker escapes with her life.  He is thus captured and put into a zoo which introduces Oliver and assistants.  Walking through the zoo one day, Oliver sees Irena sitting and sketching the new panther.  They form a friendship and Irena lands a job there at the zoo.  Shortly after, Joe (Ed the assistant) is killed by the panther which eerily disappears (because Paul is now able to revert to human form after killing).  Paul, however, even in panther form, was able to recognize his sister, Irena. 

Irena meets Paul when she returns that night to her apartment and she finally becomes knowledgeable on her animalistic condition and lineage, mostly because Paul has told her that only they can have sex together (rather kinky) and not have to kill anybody afterwards.  However, Irena is horrified at the thought and has come to realize that she cares deeply for Oliver, so now she is terrified that she could eventually harm him.

The movie itself moves on with interesting shifts and turns.  The sound track of the remake is actually very haunting and beautiful.  The theme song is “Putting Out the Fire” and sung by David Bowie, and a few other songs from the movie are, ‘Faraway Places” and “Why Not Tonight?”.  After the movie is over, that haunting theme song kind of stays inside your head. 

Paul is ultimately killed and Irena, realizing what type of dangerous creature is part of her, is found by Oliver.  Irena is back in human form only because she kills (Alice) to do so.  Not wanting to go back and forth, fearful that she will continue killing, she asks Oliver to have sex with her so she can become the panther and live her days out in that shape.  He does so, but binds her completely so that when she turns he will not be killed.  The movie ends with her caged and Oliver stroking her lovingly through the bars.  Different from the ending of the 1942 original where Simone Simon gets the keys to the panther cage, goes in and is killed by the cat. 

I would certainly recommend watching these two movies, possibly back-to-back.  Have a Cat People night, lots of popcorn, and paint on those whiskers (oh yeah, dress all in black). 

I would certainly say that it is a 3 to 3-1/2 tail light movie.  If you like an eerie, haunting horror movie without too much explicit violence and some nice music, then check it out, either the original, remake, or both.  But, I still like “The Howling” (the original), “Wolfen” (with Albert Finney), and the more recent "Blood and Chocolate" for werewolf and shape-shifter movies.

Kerry L. Marzock

Author of: “Raven’s Way” and “Raven’s Rage – Order of the Claw”