I'm writing this review after just having finished watching Cat People and I'm suffering from mixed feelings a bit.... I certainly expected it to be better and more valuable than this
especially because the I heard so much praising on it. Paul Schrader remakes the brilliant 1942 classic with the same title. The original Jacques Tourneur version was terrific because of the simple yet very effective basic plot story, but Schrader adds so many elements to this that it loses its charm. Also, there were the stress was on the mystery in the original
Schrader fully goes for the erotic undertones (like incest, virginity or just plain voyeurism) . And unfortunately
the negative elements don't even stop there. As a viewer, you never really have feeling with the main characters in Cat People and the whole film just is too slow! For a movie that constantly features a black leopard
it could have used a little more tempo. Still, this film can't be bashed entirely of course, as it still is a stylish and very brutal 80's horror highlight. Nastassja Kinski basically makes every film look good and she's damn sexy here, as the confused beauty torn between incest prepositions (by Malcolm McDowell
famous for other cult-hits like Caligula and A Clockwork Orange) and sincere declarations of love by John Heard (C.H.U.D) . Some of the sequences in Cat People are really fascinating and fairly gore
like for example the thrilling arm-amputation, Kinski's colorful hunting adventure and the descent in Malcolm McDowell's terror dungeon. You can almost smell death in that scene. Unfortunately, the pivot scene are practically copied from the original shot by shot. Like the pool-scene only updated with a little bit of naked Anette O'Toole flesh
If you're intrigued by the synopsis of Cat People, I strongly recommend to hunt down the original version and most likely the sequel `Curse of the Cat People' as well. I haven't seen that one myself, but I can easily imagine it's more than decent. Or, if you want to learn more about Paul Shrader's work in cinema, you'll be better off by renting Mishima, Light Sleeper or even American Gigolo. Cat People doesn't really represent his talent if you ask me.
If you're intrigued by the synopsis of Cat People, I strongly recommend to hunt down the original version and most likely the sequel `Curse of the Cat People' as well. I haven't seen that one myself, but I can easily imagine it's more than decent. Or, if you want to learn more about Paul Shrader's work in cinema, you'll be better off by renting Mishima, Light Sleeper or even American Gigolo. Cat People doesn't really represent his talent if you ask me.