The Curse of the Cat People - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Curse of the Cat People

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
It’s a bit of rarity for Scream Factory to dig so far into the past for their horror collections (although it can be argued that The Curse of the Cat People isn’t what we would traditionally call horror), but it is kind of fitting to pull out the oddball sequel to the much acclaimed 1942 Cat People, especially since Scream Factory had already released the 1982 remake a few years back as well. Even so, the idea that the 1944 sequel would ACTUALLY come out on Blu-ray was something that horror fans have been hoping to see for quite some time, as the film itself has garnered a strange cult following that has kept it the subject of many film schools discussions over the years. The movie was much different than the 1942 original, taking only the main two characters and putting them into an entirely different film that was more about the trauma of childhood and growing up than it was about turning into a cat woman. In fact, the title itself is almost disingenuous, as the mythos of the “cat people” is completely absent from the 70 minute flick. Still, it’s an entertaining flick, and one that is surprisingly deeper than one would think upon first glance.

A little backstory about the movie. The original film was about one Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), an American, who falls in love with a Serbian immigrant named Irena (Simone Simon). However, their love is doomed as the superstitious young Irena is afraid that if she becomes intimate with her husband, she would turn into the famed cat person of her homeland mythology. It was a movie of creepy terror, where very little is actually show, but so much is implied with an impending sense of doom. It was so well done that it is one of my favorite Criterion Blu-rays and consider it one of the best of the “original” suspense horror films. The Curse of the Cat People starts off many years later, after the horror that transpired between Oliver and Irena. Oliver (still played by Kent Smith) has moved on and married the lovely Alice (Jane Randolph), and the two of them have a little girl by the name of Amy (Ann Carter) who is a bit of an odd girl.

You see, Amy doesn’t exactly have a lot of friends. In fact, she has no friends at all due to the fact that she is mostly spent in flights of fancy, dreaming other worlds and imaginary beings. The other kids naturally pick on her (as young children tend to do with “odd” children), and Amy is subsequently the outsider in all of their play dates. When Amy comes across an old house supposedly haunted, she is given a ring by an old demented woman (she appears to be mentally unbalanced) and is told that it is a wishing ring. The lonely young girl wishes upon the ring and begs the powers that be for a friend. And a friend she receives, but only a friend that SHE can see as she is visited by the ghost of Irena. Her father punishes Amy for lying about having a friend, and especially one whom she claims is his long dead wife. However, Amy’s desire for friendship grows stronger and stronger, as the spirit of Irena bonds with the young girl, leading to a confrontation that will shake the foundations of her childish world.

The Curse of the Cat People is a really odd sequel to Cat People 1942. In reality, you could change the name to anything else and have roughly the same reaction, as the movie only ties into the first film with the name and the inclusion of Irena and Amy’s father Oliver. Besides that, the film takes a DRASTIC turn from the original and tells it’s own unique story, away from the mythos of Cat People. The movie itself is actually quite good, delving into the different facets of growing up, and how children were treated during those formative years when their imagination and fantasy world seems antithetical to most parent’s visions of reality. The relationship between father and daughter is strained with what he considers lying, while to young Amy there is no falsehood. Her reality just differs from that of her father. A sub plot that actually asks us to question how we as adults treat children when their formative imaginations are entertaining them. The side plot with the old woman seems inconsequential at first, but it’s during the final moments of that film that it ties directly into the idea of childhood trauma, as we finally realize why the old woman’s daughter is so bitter and angry. A scene which leads the entire trauma of childhood full circle, with someone who went through her own childhood trauma letting go of all that pain and returning once more to that level of innocence.

For being a solid, but not great, horror sequel to an incredible film, The Curse of the Cat People has garnered quite a lot of study from film classes over the decades. It was a bit of a hodge podge mess behind the scenes, and when the film was behind schedule and about to fail, the studio heads brought in the (now) legendary Robert Wise to finish off the production even though he had never directed a film (most of us know him as the director of West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Run Silent Run Deep, Sand Pebbles and many more). The subject of childhood trauma has sparked many a discussion, and the movie debated many a time, but for some reason it has been largely forgotten in the public eye. Personally I can understand why it was not given the Criterion treatment like Cat People, but it is well worth of getting a good Blu-ray release and I’m very thankful it has FINALLY been given the treatment it deserves.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

I have no idea if Scream Factory sourced a new master, but I’m suspicious that the master may have been struck sometime recently, but NOT by Scream as they are usually very good about bragging over new masters they have used. However, that doesn’t mean the transfer is bad, quite the opposite in fact. The 1.33:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray looks fantastic for a black and white film. Spacing is great, as is the clarity for a 1942 movie. I was expecting a print damaged mess, or at least lots of speckles and grain everywhere, but the movie is nearly immaculate. There’s a flew flickers here and there (like when Irena leaves Amy) and some mild print damage, but the clarity and detail is immaculate, with the audience able to see the lines on Irena’s dress, or the little flutters of hair that cling to Amy’s childish face. There’s some mild black crush in the film, but other than that the black and white imagery is quite stunning to look at.








Audio:

While not exactly a rocking 5.1 mix or above, the 2.0 DTS-HD MA Mono track for The Curse of the Cat People is quite good for being a mono track. The film is 99% dialog based, with some neat scoring moments that lift it up from being completely focused on the vocals. Clarity is excellent, with only a minor rasp to some of the voices, but even that is me nitpicking as I could barely hear it. It’s fresh and clean, with none of the nasty abnormalities that plague films of the 1940s due to the lower quality of the recording equipment.








Extras:

• NEW Audio Commentary with author/historian Steve Haberman
• Audio Commentary with historian Greg Mank, with audio interview excepts with actress Simone Simon
• NEW Lewton's Muse: The Dark Eyes of Simone Simon – a video essay by filmmaker Constantine Nasr (Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy)
• NEW Audio Interview with Ann Carter, moderated by Tom Weaver
• Theatrical Trail

Final Score: ​

The Curse of the Cat People was a bit hit or miss with critics and fans, but it has gained a cult following that has stuck around some 74 years later. It’s a good thing when nearly ¾ of a century later film students are STILL talking about your work, and the newish looking transfer breathes new life into the movie on Blu-ray. The Special features are actually rather meaty despite not having a “collector’s edition” status to the Blu-ray, and the film itself is a lot of fun from a historical point of view. Definitely recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph
Directed by: Gunther von Fritsch, Robert Wise
Written by: DeWitt Bodeen
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA Mono
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 70 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 26th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Recommended

 

[Todd Anderson]

Interesting review/flick. Never heard of Cat People or The Curse of... not sure I'd buy this, but I am curious to give it a watch.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I also never heard of this but I am interested in checking it out.

 

[Michael Scott]

the original is a bonafide horror classic. Creepy movie that uses a lot of tension and what "could happen" to build said tension instead of shock horror and blood. One of my favorite Criterion editions.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Ok. Not to deviate, but I just ordered the original. Perhaps Curse will be next ;/)