HF: Cat People & Poltergeist

CAT PEOPLE

(Jacques Tourneur, 1942) & (Paul Schrader, 1982)

Apparently there is a follow-up to the 1942 film, but I couldn't locate it. This film is my first Val Lewton and I look forward to diving into his work a bit more in the future. The 1942 film follows an engineer (Kent Smith) who falls in love with a mysterious Serbian woman (Simone Simon) with a fascination for the zoo's black panther. He begins to learn she might actually be a "cat person", a person who when aroused turns into a feline. The 1982 film shows a similar storyline with a zoologist (John Heard) falling for the mysterious virgin (Natassja Kinski). Both films have two scenes in common, one of which involves the woman's competition (Jane Randolph in the original, Annette O'Toole in the remake) being stalked in a swimming pool. That sequence in the original stills packs a punch, a wildly unnerving sequence even after 80 years. The first film runs only 75 minutes, and offers a more psychological approach. The remake, and this shouldn't shock anyone given who made the film, offers lots of sex and violence in a lurid atmosphere. It also features music by David Bowie, of course. I loved both films, and appreciate how they are both very much products of their respective eras. GRADES: A-

POLTERGEIST

(Tobe Hooper, 1982)

I watched this at some point in the late 90's (I think?) and didn't much care for it. I figured it appropriate to give it a second chance for its 40th anniversary given how beloved it is. Lo and behold, I loved it this time. The film follows a family (led by Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams) that's experiencing a haunting in their new home in a new development in California. Despite numerous rip-offs and parodied moments, Hooper's film (though rumored to be 'ghost directed' by Spielberg) works wonderfully after all these years. Gorgeous cinematography, and I really loved Williams as the mother. Outside of an effect scene or two, most of the effect sequences have held up really well. Practical effects will do that! GRADE: A-

POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE

(Brian Gibson, 1986)

Taking place a year after the events of the first film, The Freeling Family moves in with Diane's mother but find their hauntings aren't yet over. The burial ground from the first film has a cave beneath it where a sinister preacher named Kane (Julian Beck) led his followers to their death in the early 1800's. Beck is the thing that most works about this sequel. It was nominated for an Oscar for Visual Effects, though the ending sequence is hilariously dated and really doesn't work. On the flip side, the great Zelda Rubinstein was nominated for a Razzie for both this and the third installment. Neither were earned, stupid Razzies! GRADE: B-

POLTERGEIST III

(Gary Sherman, 1988)

Oof, this was bad. Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke, who tragically died at just 12 years old a few months before the film's release) is sent to Chicago to live with relatives (Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen) while attending a special school for gifted children. The ghosts led by Kane inevitably appear, this time through her high rise building's many mirrors. Not scary, with incoherent editing and story. It also features a young Lara Flynn Boyle as the family's very 80's daughter. The film rightfully bombed upon release, though apparently there were plans for a fourth film which would have been a prequel that followed Kane and his followers. That sounds like it might have been worth exploring. GRADE: D

After that, there was a TV series that ran on Showtime and Syfy (then Sci-Fi) for 88 episodes. I have not seen a single one.

I did see the 2015 remake which I reviewed here. I liked it, mostly for the easy chemistry of Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt.