Cat People (1982)

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nTitle: Cat People (1982)

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nDirector: Paul Schrader

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nCast: Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard,nAnnette O Toole

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nReview: 

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nPaul Schrader is the mastermind writer behind many greatnfilms, for example, he is a frequent collaborator with Martin Scorsese for whomnhe wrote some of the distinguished directors most recognized films like TaxinDriver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980). Schrader even wrote some of Scorsese’snless popular films like The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Bringing Outnthe Dead (1999), both excellent films in my book. In fact, if you haven’t seennBringing Out the Dead, do yourself a favor! He also wrote one of QuentinnTarantino’s favorite films ever, Rolling Thunder (1977), a film about a soldiernwho returns home from war, only to find out he doesn’t like what he finds, homenjust isn’t the same. Schrader even wrote one of my favorite films ever, PeternWeir’s The Mosquito Coast (1986), the film in which Harrison Ford hates Americanso much, he decides to create his own society, apart from the rest of the world.  In essence, Mr. Schrader is an excellent writer;nI love most of the films he has written. More interesting still, is the fact thatnSchrader evolved into a film director, a step that little writers take withnsuccess. How does he fare as a director? Well, let’s see how he did with hisnremake of Jacques Tourneur’s classic horror film Cat People (1942). 

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nThe thing with this remake is that it divides its audience,nsome people seem to really love this movie (I fall into this category) whilenothers seem to criticize it because of its large quotient of sex and violence,nbut here’s what I have to say about it, accusing this film of being too violentnor sexual is like accusing a heavy metal band of being too loud. Sex andnviolence go hand in hand with this film, you can’t blame Paul Schrader fornwanting to explore the films erotic, sensual nature in a more graphic manner thannTourneur’s film, after all, Tourneur’s film was made in 1942, Schrader’s wasnmade in the 80’s, a decade in which sex and violence dominated the silvernscreen. So to all those naysayers that criticize this movie because it’snsexual, please, grow up! This film was marketed for adults, it is clearly ratedn“R”, hell, the films tagline (prominently plastered on the poster) read “An Eroticnfantasy about the animal in all of us” So, if that tagline isn’t enough to letnyou know what kind of a film you’ll be watching, then you shouldn’t be watchingnthis movie.  I hate it when people try tonbe such puritans! Sex is a part of life, what’s the deal with trying to hidenit?

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nThis divided audience reaction actually kind of exemplifies whatnCat People is all about, sexual awakening, sexual repression and uncontrollednpassions. Cat People is about Irena, a young woman who is trying to hide hernsexual side out of fear. She is a virgin, but according to her, she’s waitingnfor just the right guy to take her to paradise. “When it happens, it will benmagical” she says. In reality, she refrains from having sex because she belongsnto a race of beings called The Cat People. You see, once upon a time, cats dominatednearth, and the few humans that existed gave their women in sacrifice to thencats. But Instead of killing the women, the cats mated with them and so, a racenof cat people was born. These cat people look just like regular humans, butnwhen they have sex with regular humans, they turn into black panthers. In ordernto turn back into humans, they have to kill whoever they just had sex with. Sonsex is always a messy thing with these people. Unless, they have sex with theirnown brothers and sisters, then everything is okay and they don’t turn intonpanthers. So we’re talking about an incestuous race here, which is probably thenreal reason this film stroke up a controversy.

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nBut again, it’s not like the film is advocating incest, farnfrom it. In the film, Irena meets up with her long lost brother, Paul, whom shenhas not seen since they were children. Paul has the hots for his own sisternbecause he wants to satisfy his sexual desires without having to kill anybody.nUnfortunately, Irena doesn’t want to be with her brother, because it’s hernfreaking brother! “I am not like you” she tells him, to which he replies “Thatnis the lie that will kill your lover”, so yeah; it’s a film that explores manynaspects of human sexuality, including the taboo subject of incest. But that’s notnall it explores. Irena falls for a Zoo Keeper named Oliver Yates. She lovesnhim, but knows she might have to kill him if they end up together. Does shensleep with him or not? Will she risk turning into a panther and killing him?nThe symbolisms for sexual awakening are there, and it all fits perfectly withnthe symbolisms of predatory panthers and their prey.

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nAnd what better actress to explore sexuality with then thenultra sexy Nastassja Kinski? Hell, you take the ‘s’ away from Kinsky and you leftnwith ‘Kinky’! So it all works out. Nastassja had no problems with nudity, shenreally goes all out here, and yeah, let me just say that this film has tons ofnnudity in it, Annette O’Toole even shows us some skin. I was having thisninternal battle, who is hotter? Kinski or O’Toole?  Those of you who have seen the movie, pleasenstrike back and let me know what you think! So yeah, lots of skin on this one,nwhich was a common thing back in the 80’s, watching Cat People reminded me justnhow sexually repressed modern American cinema has become. What’s with thisnobsession of denying our sexual natures? A healthy sexual life is normal; itsnpart of what makes us human. Yeah we can keep it under control, but not repressnit. It goes against human nature to do so, because let’s be honest here: We ArenSexual People! Which is the reason why I celebrate films like Cat People! Thesenare films that explore the more passionate, sexual side of life that “is in allnof us”. Irena is tempted by good natured sexual attraction to Oliver and thenperverted side, represented by her brother Paul. Which side shall she choose?

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nAnother great aspect of this film is the films color palette,nwhich augments the films wild passions, lots of oranges and reds permeate thenscreen, there’s lots of visual intensity. Aesthetically speaking, the film is andelight to watch: this thanks in no small part to the group of artists thatnSchrader chose to surround himself with in order to make this film look the waynit does. Sometimes it feels as if the film escapes to some sort of surrealnfantasy land filled with black panthers. There’s this one scene that I lovednwhere Irena walks naked through the forest, connecting with nature, feelingnvery much alive. She can see and hear and feel everything that much more acutely,nawesome scene. Cat People started off in the right foot when the first thing Inheard was David Bowie’s “Putting Out the Fire”, one of my favorite Bowie songs.nI had no idea the song was featured so predominantly throughout the whole film!nThe tune is sultry, just like the film. Malcolm McDowell turns in an intensenperformance as Paul, Irena’s incest thirsty brother. He plays his role withnferocity, acting like a hungry animal, even his attire is wild! MalcolmnMcDowell incurs in some nudity himself, but he’s no stranger to that sort ofnthing, after all, this is the guy who played Caligula (1979).

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nI can’t compare this film to Jacques Tourneur’s originalnfilm because I’ve never seen that version of Cat People, so my review analyzednthe film strictly from watching only Schrader’s version, but from what I gather,nthey are not all that similar. In fact, Schrader himself says he regrets havingncalled it Cat People; that a smarter move would have been to use an alternatentitle that would distance it from Tourneur’s classic. Apparently, Schrader’snfilm has very little in common with Tourneur’s film, save for the classic poolnscene in which Irena hunts down Alice. Another thing that separates this one from Tourneur’s film is the effects work, nothing here is hidden in shadows, or suggested, we see the transformations, the film has some gory fun with that, in this sense it’s similar to films like An American Werewolf in London (1981), where we see these graphic transformations take place, though I will say that the transformations in Cat People are not as good as the ones seen in films like An American Werewolf in London or The Howling (1981). This film came to us from a wave ofnUniversal remakes that came during the 80’s in which Universal Studios attempted to give an update to all their old monsters. So what we have here ladies and gentlemen is a very erotic filmnthat explores human sexuality, looks fantastic and has two beautiful maidens asnits stars, what’s not to like? So in answer to my initial question, Schrader succeedsnas a director as well as a writer. I only wish he’d written this one himself,ninstead this one was written by Alan Ormsby, the guy behind Porky’s II (1983)nand Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1973). I guess Schrader wanted tonconcentrate fully on the direction, because of this, the films script suffers anbit. It doesn’t have the strength that many of Schrader’s other works have, it’snreally the only reason I don’t give it a perfect score, otherwise, Cat Peoplenis highly recommended!

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nRating:  4 out of 5  

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