Cat People: Collector's Edition

By:
In-House Review - Jul 16 2004

Schrader's gory remake of the 1942 classic chiller is shameless fun, even more so with the director's psychological baggage to laugh at. McDowell and Kinski play kissin' cousins who can't get down from their family tree. The whole production exudes an all-pervasive air of fetid evil, perversity and eroticism - much like the city in which it is set: New Orleans.

By:
In-House Review - Jul 16 2004

Schrader's gory remake of the 1942 classic chiller is shameless fun, even more so with the director's psychological baggage to laugh at. McDowell and Kinski play kissin' cousins who can't get down from their family tree. The whole production exudes an all-pervasive air of fetid evil, perversity and eroticism - much like the city in which it is set: New Orleans.

By: Amos Lassen

The original "Cat People" was made in 1942 by Jacques Tourneur. This version by Paul Schrader from 1982 is more erotic than the original, more perverse and more evil (or eviler, if you prefer). What distinguishes this film is subtlety and substance. The shocks are there but they exist in the evil and perversity and eroticism of the city of New Orleans. This is a sophisticated and macabre chiller that sits somewhere between dreams, danger and human passion.
Irina (Natassia Kinski) is a beautiful young woman who comes to New Orleans to be reunited with her brother, Paul (Malcolm McDowell) whom she has not seen since they were both children. He is a member of a religious cult and an evangelist and we sense something very strange about him when he first sees Irina again. He seems to make erotic overtures to her and then he suddenly disappears. As Irina goes sightseeing, she visits the zoo and there meets Oliver, the curator. He has been waiting for someone like her and they seem to hit it off well. Irina is a virgin and has been saving herself for someone like Oliver. However, she learns something-that she and her brother, Paul, are cat people. They are transformed into panthers after making love to other humans and they are deadly. Irina finds this duality to be oppressive.
The film is centered on Irina and it tries to justify the paranoia that she feels. This causes a kind of misogyny by which the real horror is in female sexuality and sex and death are equal but that sex is repulsive. The only solution is to lock Irina in a cage. We also see a repugnant attitude toward . Paul realizes that the only way he can divest his "cat" is to have sex with his sister. The theory here is that both Irina and Paul with become cats and they will be safe forever.
This is an interesting film and a strange look at sexuality. Kinski's Irina is one of wonder, feline grace, and trembling vulnerability. McDowell is appropriately sinister and obsessed as Paul. John Heard gives substance to the catalytic character of Oliver, and Annette O'Toole is especially good as his ex-girlfriend.
The film opens with a dreamlike sequence showing black panthers in a wonderfully gnarled tree and ends with a very magical scene between Irena and Oliver. The music by Giorgio Moroder and cinematography of John Bailiey's fit Alan Ormsby's ornate screenplay. "Director Schrader explores the intricate textures of desire and the interplay between Eros and animal behavior. He continues to show an interest in the split between romantic longing and sexual passion. Irena is terrified of her physicality, and Oliver yearns for an otherworldly woman. Their love for each other eventually transcends enormous impediments and comes to fruition in a solution agreeable to both".

By: Amos Lassen

The original "Cat People" was made in 1942 by Jacques Tourneur. This version by Paul Schrader from 1982 is more erotic than the original, more perverse and more evil (or eviler, if you prefer). What distinguishes this film is subtlety and substance. The shocks are there but they exist in the evil and perversity and eroticism of the city of New Orleans. This is a sophisticated and macabre chiller that sits somewhere between dreams, danger and human passion.
Irina (Natassia Kinski) is a beautiful young woman who comes to New Orleans to be reunited with her brother, Paul (Malcolm McDowell) whom she has not seen since they were both children. He is a member of a religious cult and an evangelist and we sense something very strange about him when he first sees Irina again. He seems to make erotic overtures to her and then he suddenly disappears. As Irina goes sightseeing, she visits the zoo and there meets Oliver, the curator. He has been waiting for someone like her and they seem to hit it off well. Irina is a virgin and has been saving herself for someone like Oliver. However, she learns something-that she and her brother, Paul, are cat people. They are transformed into panthers after making love to other humans and they are deadly. Irina finds this duality to be oppressive.
The film is centered on Irina and it tries to justify the paranoia that she feels. This causes a kind of misogyny by which the real horror is in female sexuality and sex and death are equal but that sex is repulsive. The only solution is to lock Irina in a cage. We also see a repugnant attitude toward . Paul realizes that the only way he can divest his "cat" is to have sex with his sister. The theory here is that both Irina and Paul with become cats and they will be safe forever.
This is an interesting film and a strange look at sexuality. Kinski's Irina is one of wonder, feline grace, and trembling vulnerability. McDowell is appropriately sinister and obsessed as Paul. John Heard gives substance to the catalytic character of Oliver, and Annette O'Toole is especially good as his ex-girlfriend.
The film opens with a dreamlike sequence showing black panthers in a wonderfully gnarled tree and ends with a very magical scene between Irena and Oliver. The music by Giorgio Moroder and cinematography of John Bailiey's fit Alan Ormsby's ornate screenplay. "Director Schrader explores the intricate textures of desire and the interplay between Eros and animal behavior. He continues to show an interest in the split between romantic longing and sexual passion. Irena is terrified of her physicality, and Oliver yearns for an otherworldly woman. Their love for each other eventually transcends enormous impediments and comes to fruition in a solution agreeable to both".