Cat People [HD]

Sex, Violence, and an Emerging Cult Favorite
In general terms, the basic premise of both original 1942 CAT PEOPLE and the 1982 Paul Schrader remake are the same: an exotic European beauty is given to transforming into a black panther when sexually aroused. But Schrader unravels this fantasy concept in some very Freudian directions, setting his version in against the decadent charm of New Orleans, introducing a theme of incest, and ramping up the original with a lot of nudity, a lot of sex, and some of the most graphic violence around. The result is an American blood-and-gore horror film with a hypnotic European sensibility that equates both sexual frustration and orgasm with violent death. The story line concerns two orphaned siblings (Natasha Kinski and Malcom McDowell) who are reunited in New Orleans as adults-but they are, unbeknownst to the sister, the descendents of a mutant race who can only mate with their own kind without transforming into ravening beasts who must then kill to regain their human form. When sister...

Lett'n the cat out of the bag....
In the tradition of erotic 80's thrillers, "Cat People" stands out as a very unique and entertaining piece of work.

Young, innocent, and virginal Irena (Nastassja Kinski) can barely remember her parents or brother. She knows they were circus performers and that is about it. Having been raised in orphanages her whole life, she is finally contacted by her long lost brother Paul(Malcolm McDowell ), who is now a priest living out in New Orleans.

So... she packs it up and hightails out there to go live with him.

What she begins to learn is that her brother is quite an oddball, and she herself is beginning to have feelings and connections that she doesn't quite understand.

Ya see, Irena and Paul are from actual feline ancestors, and they themselves turn into panthers upon heightened sexual arousal. Once they turn, they are kitty killing machines-who don't turn back to normal until after they have made a kill. AWESOME!

Not only that, but...

A haunting, erotic horror movie
"Cat People" has two things going for it: a creepy, intriguing story line; and Nastassia Kinski. Kinski is absolutely mesmerizing in the title role; an erotic, exotic presence awakening to her own sexuality and discovering that she can only have a life with one of her own kind. Paul Schrader's direction lends a eerily spooky atmosphere to the film. Malcolm McDowell is excellent as Kinski's brother who sees her as his only salvation, as she sees him as her destruction; John Heard is okay but nothing special as Kinski's lover who finally realizes what she is and commits the act that at once sets her free and imprisons her for the rest of her life; and Ruby Dee has a small but haunting role as the landlady who knows Kinski's secret and confronts her with the devastating reality of what lies ahead for her. There's plenty of blood and plenty of gore, but it all fits in with the story. It's not a great movie, but it's a very good one that deserves a wider...

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