Directed by Paul Schrader
Written by Alan Ormsby and Paul Schrader
Based on a screenplay by DeWitt Bodeen
Starring Nastassja Kinksi, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard and Annette O’Toole
USA, 1982
I watched and reviewed the original 1942 version of CAT PEOPLE (and its sequel) in a previous Horrorfest, but this year let’s check out the 1982 remake. It was co-written and directed by one of my favorite filmmakers, Paul Schrader, a man who isn’t afraid to take on squirm-inducing subjects.
The movie gets off to a good start with a killer David Bowie theme song (so killer that Tarantino himself re-used it in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) and continues its show of promise with good performances from Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell as the titular cat people. The biggest difference between this version of the story and the original was that the original was famous for being ambiguous – you never find out if all the cat stuff is just in the characters’ minds, or if there really is a supernatural cat curse. In those one Schrader puts on front street pretty much from the beginning that this flick is literally about people who transform into cats.
It's not better than the original, which would be a tall order, anyway, since the original is one of the greatest films ever made, but it is an interesting take on the material and a worthy remake. Not one of Schrader’s best films, but definitely one of his weirdest, which is saying something.
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