Cat People (1942) (DVD)

A review of just the film. Surprisingly, this isn't available on DVD in the UK, although a cheap Region 1 can be imported through amazon. Horror movies had been big in 1930s Hollywood, and Universal had ruled the roost, their OTT gothics starring Karloff and Lugosi still being popular (or at least well-known) today. But by the early 40s Universal had lost its way somewhat. Its monster movies were becoming more cartoony, and the genre was slipping into the realm of the B-movie. Far more successful, both commercially and artistically, were a series of very low budget horror films made by producer Val Lewton for RKO. Cat People (1942) was the first, and it's ...  Read the complete review

This is still one of the finest horror movies ever made some 60 years after its release. Filmed in 1942 by Val Lewton for RKO Cat People succeeds by refusing to give the audience the easy way out by showing them a made up movie monster but rather to let their own imagination fill in the blanks. As a result and thanks to some superb imagery and use of camera effects the movie stands the test of time well and still has the capacity to scare the pants off you today. Eastern-European immigrant Irena Dubrovna(Simone Simon) falls in love with American architect Kent Smith(Oliver Reed) and marries him after a whilrwind romance. However, she holds a dark secret which ...  Read the complete review

CAT PEOPLE is the story of a refugee from Serbia (played with feeling by Simone Simon) who comes to live in New York in the 1940s. She is married, but is scared the sex will turn her into a large cat. The movie was produced by Val Newton, who would later go on to create many more effective horror movies, but this, his first, is perhaps his best. The idea of good looking ladies turning into cats is a quite lurid one and could have come out of any of the pulp magazines of the day. The film was successful enough to warrant sequels and remakes. ...  Read the complete review