Thriller

Horror

Cat People

Universal Pictures

RKO Pictures

Charles Fries Productions

United States of America

English

Nastassja Kinski

Malcolm McDowell

John Heard

Annette O'Toole

Ruby Dee

Ed Begley Jr.

Scott Paulin

Frankie Faison

Ron Diamond

Lynn Lowry

John Larroquette

Tessa Richarde

Patricia Perkins

Berry Berenson

Fausto Barajas

John H. Fields

Emery Hollier

Stephen Marshal

Robert Pavlovich

Julie Denney

Arione De Winter

Francine Segal

Don Hood

David Showacre

Neva Gage

Marisa Folse

Danelle Hand

John C. Isbell

Roger E. Reid

Charles Joseph Konya Jr.

Marco St. John

Brett Alexander

Gregory Gatto

Terc Martinez

David Ross McCarty

Harry Hauss

James Deeth

Ray Wise

Jo Ann Dearing

Paul Schrader

Alan Ormsby

Charles W. Fries

John Bailey

Jacqueline Cambas

Jere Huggins

Ned Humphreys

Mary Goldberg

DeWitt Bodeen

Jerry Bruckheimer

Mark Dumas

Beth Nufer

Vince Deadrick Jr.

Brad Bovee

Bennie E. Dobbins

Ron Oxley

Madeline Klein

Mike Tillman

Bud S. Smith

Stephen P. Dunn

Tina Scott

David Bowie

Edward Richardson

Bruce Weintraub

Daniel Paredes

Janice D. Brandow

Thomas R. Burman

Michael Grillo

Larry Clark Bird

Lauren Cory

Erin M. Cummins

Peter Ivy

Daniel Loren May

Jeannine Oppewall

Jeff Passanante

Nancy Patton

Vic Petrotta Jr.

Clarence Lynn Price

Charles L. Campbell

Larry Carow

Louis L. Edemann

Richard C. Franklin

Robert L. Hoyt

Stanley H. Polinsky

John J. Stephens

Clyde Hart

Ronald W. McLeish

Dennis Rotta

John R. Shannon

Joseph F. Valentine

Richard Walden

Steve Yaconelli

Sandy Berke Jordan

Robert Chase

Hugo Peña

Todd Pavlin

Renee Perrin

Bob Badami

Sylvester Levay

Arnold Goodwin

Luca Kouimelis

Walter Scott

Giorgio Moroder

Albert Whitlock

Angeline Brown

Ellis Burman Jr.

Bob Williams

Allen Hall

Robert Blalack

Wilbur Stark

Tom Jacobson

Bill Badalato

Jack G. Taylor Jr.

Ross Albert

Craig Bassett

Jeffrey L. Kimball

Syd Dutton

Joel Kirschner

David Rubin

Sharon Benson

Irene Terrell

James E. Webb

Chris McLaughlin

David W. Gray

Jack Manning

Ron Nagle

Scott Mathews

Norman B. Schwartz

Hank Salerno

Donah Bassett

H. John Ramos

Mike Rutgard

Tom Del Genio

Pat Domenico

Karl G. Miller

Ed Cooper

Michael W. Blymyer

***Atmospheric, artistic, dramatic horror in New Orleans***

"Cat People" came out in 1982 and is a modern take on the classic 1942 film. Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell are siblings cursed to become were-panthers if sexually aroused. The only way they can become human again is to kill a fellow human. The idea is absurd and fantastical, but "Cat People" takes the subject absolutely seriously. John Heard plays a zoo manager who falls in love with Kinski’s character, while Annette O'Toole plays the third person in the romantic triangle.

The movie’s engrossing and has style & pizazz. For instance, the flashback scenes of the ancient panther tribe doing rituals in an orange desert are surreal and captivating; the accompanying atmospheric music by Giorgio Moroder adds to the mood nicely, along with David Bowie’s theme song. While both are decidedly 80’s, they fit the flick and are somehow timeless.

Both Kinski and McDowell are properly cat-like. McDowell, as usual, has a weird and diabolic air about him. John Heard is fine as the protagonist and redhead O'Toole is simply gorgeous. Speaking of which, Kinski is indeed quite attractive, as observed in the scene of her fishing with Heard in hot pants and wader boots, but O'Toole steals Kinski’s thunder a bit, particularly in the pool sequence.

This is a great flick for showcasing the New Orleans area and the Sothern Gothic ambiance thereof. Keep in mind that it’s definitely a horror flick and so can be pretty brutal at times. On a related note, if nudity offends you then you might want to skip it as many of the characters are shown totally nude or near nude.

The film runs just shy of 2 hours and was shot in the New Orleans area with some stuff done in the Los Angeles region (e.g. studio work and the panther tree sequence). 

GRADE: B+/A-

Cat People (1982) - Trailer HD 1080p

Cat People Official Trailer #1 - Ed Begley Jr. Movie (1982) HD

Cat People (1982) (TV Spot)

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Cat People

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Nastassja Kinski

Malcolm McDowell

John Heard

Annette O'Toole

Ruby Dee

Ed Begley Jr.

Scott Paulin

Frankie Faison

Ron Diamond

Lynn Lowry

Box office

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