The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Val Lewton Series of Films in the 1940's are Simply Special, Without Peer, and a highly Praised, Off-Beat, and an Excellent Event of Filmmaking that was initially Over-Looked and considered Low-Budget Anomalies.At the Time, completely Misunderstood and Ignored, so much so that No One even Tried to Duplicate the Success. One Wonders if Anyone Could.It seems to be a Mini-Zeitgeist, combining elements of the Universal Horror Movies from the Thirties, Film-Noir, and a New Hollywood Exploration that would Result in the then Emerging and now Solid Genre called the Psychological Thriller.It cannot be Overstated just how Brilliant and Influential these Films from the Lewton Stable of Imaginative and Talented Filmmakers would become. In this one, a Semi-Sequel, but a Sequel to be sure, with Returning Characters and Story Arc. But it IS Different. A Dream-Like Fantasy World of a Child's Loneliness, Isolation, and a Wish for a Friend.The Beautiful, and at times Heart-Breaking Performance from Child Actress Ann Carter, along with the Stunning and Visual Template of Cinematographer Muskura, make this a Haunting, Elegant, and Intellectually Stimulating Film.It is yet Another of the Val Lewton Series of Movies that Command Attention with its Professionalism and Creative Style. These were all done in the now Famous Low-Low-Budget and that in itself is Worthy of the often sighted Genius that these Film Folks Achieved.This is one very Different Movie. Fans have Migrated to it from Word of Mouth. It Never seems to Disappoint New Viewers with its Charm and Ability to Penetrate the Subconscious. There are Detractors around who, with all Due Respect, just Don't Get the Appeal. But They are in a very small Minority. For most, the Viewing Experience is Profound, Poignant, and Provocative.Note…The summary title above…Amy and Her Friend…is what Val Lewton preferred.

Trying to help his shy daughter, a man's efforts to give her a friend results in her conjuring her mother as a playmate and spending more time with her to where they find the truth about her and try to stop her before she gets to the child.There isn't a whole lot to this one. One of the better points for the film is the general plot-line. It's a little original and does offer up some potentially disturbing ideas here of the dead mother coming back to her daughter as an imaginary friend, though that tends to fall off quite easily in here. Every now and then, this pops out a pretty nice suspense scene, as the initial walk-through of the house does get some good moments in, as there's a really creepy air going through the place from the large amount of furniture and other objects found to the darkness of the place really makes for a creepy sequence. What also works is the latter scene where she's startled in her sleep from the howling wind, mainly for adhering so closely to horror conventions over the years. The only other thing that works here is the final chase, as the run through the snowy forest looking for her friend, the dogs on her trail and finally finding shelter at the house here for a big final confrontation. These here are the only right parts, but as much good as there is, there's the same amount of bad. This is due to their not being a whole lot wrong since there isn't much at all to the film. Nothing much happens at all in the way of scares, suspense, action or even jumps, and at times very rarely feels like a horror film. There's a bit of potential due to the original plot, but the fact that nothing at all happens really destroys this one. That is the main and central flaw with this one, which is just as bad as it's other one, where it rarely feels like a horror film. This is due to the film really failing to make any real threat associated with what's happening here as though everyone here knows who she is and what happened to her that doesn't come across over to this one. This really could've done something by hinting that the daughter could've started to act like her mother once they let her in on who her playmate really is when she was still alive, but instead this one utilizes the time showing her shyness with other kids and treats the whole affair like a story told by a child with an overactive imagination. This is a really damaging part here as this here not only devalues of lot of what happened in the original but really keeps the film from really embracing what kind of film it really is with the avoidance of being a horror film so much a part of this one. Likewise, the other part that makes no sense here is the relationship of the two women in the house who are given a status to each other but continually deny it without saying why, and the entire point here is lost and quite confusing. These are the main strikes against it.Today's Rating/G: Nothing.

I really like Cat People (1942)and was curious for its sequel even though I knew beforehand that Curse would be no horror at all. Indeed this is more of a drama with fantasy elements. However not as good as its predecessor I think it's a wonderful movie in its own right. It was nice to see the 3 main characters from Cat People again. I think it was very nice to make Irena return as ghost. It makes sense, Irena was a cat person and cats are said to have nine lives. However here she really isn't a cat person more of a good fairy. Her scenes with little Alice are splendid. Kudos to very young Ann Carter to make the movie pretty much hers. Her befriending an old lady from which she got a gift eventually provides us with a dramatic back story that unfortunately doesn't get elaborated on enough. That's a pity because it could have made the movie even better.

A semi-sort of sequel to CAT PEOPLE, Val Lewton's THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE is slow and irrelevant even by his standards. It stars three of the actors from the original movie in a kind of twee children's fantasy that has little to nothing to do with the first film's plot.The truth is that there's no curse in the film and no cat people either, the title was just added to cash in on the original. I suppose 'the little girl and her imaginary friend' wouldn't have sold as many tickets. The actual film is almost totally devoid of incident or, indeed, interest, remaining completely dull throughout.The characters who return from the original just don't have the same allure of mystery as they did before, and the child actress just doesn't cut it I'm afraid. Some of the supporting actors give performances so dated that it feels like they're in a pantomime. Even so, such over-the-top acting is the only thing of interest in this lifeless production.