Cat People (1982)

(Second Viewing, Criterion Streaming, December 2022) If you’re about to watch the 1982 version of Cat People hoping for a repeat of the subtle dread of the 1942 original, then stop and reassess your expectations right away, because this is from an entirely different era and the result is an entirely different film. While it starts from roughly the same place (people who can transform into killer panthers), this 1982 film comes from the era of trashy slashers and copious nudity, so it’s not that much of a surprise to see plenty of gore, naked women, salacious elements and mounting casualties. The only thing I remember from a first mid-1990s viewing was the gore, and it’s still over-the-top. Writer-director Paul Schrader is far, far away from Val Lewton’s subtle touch—his take is about bloody graphic dismemberment, incestuous siblings, torn-apart prostitutes and more associations between big cats and female eroticism than you’d believe are possible. It sort-of-works, though—clearly not in the same register, but as a far more respectable early-1980s horror film than the slashers that were popular at the time. The New Orleans setting is used well, and if the film runs into some serious pacing problems in its third quarter, the early bits of the film do a solid job at establishing the characters and their environment. It’s not meant to make you comfortable, though—the ending is disturbing on a number of levels, and that’s well after some material that doesn’t play nicely. Considering the film’s emphasis on sexuality, I would probably respond better to it if I found Nastassja Kinski more attractive—but that’s my problem, not the film’s problem. (I much preferred Annette O’Toole in her supporting role, but she would not have been a good pick for the demands of the female lead role.)  Elsewhere in the film, both Malcolm McDowell and John Heard have two good roles here, and Ruby Dee pops up briefly. There’s plenty of thematic material to dig in if you want, but the film (mostly) works on the surface level if you’re willing to grant it some indulgences. I don’t quite like the 1982 version of Cat People as much as the moodier 1942 version, but it’s not a bad movie in its own right.