Hollywood Gothique

Reviews of horror films feature felines

Scared by the sounds of a wild cat, Jane Randolph treads water.
The original 1942 version of CAT PEOPLE – producer Val Lewton’s gem of atmospheric ambiguity – is about a Serbian woman named Irena (Simone Simone) who fears that she will turn into a lethal feline if sexually aroused. Unlike Paul Schrader’s horrendous 1982 remake, [...]

Stuart Gordon’s MASTERS OF HORROR episode “The Black Cat” came out on DVD this week (I reviewed the film here), so it makes sense to make that the focus of this week’s episode of Friday Cat Blogging.

This is yet another adaptation of Poe’s story, more faithful than most, i which a man is driven by [...]

If ever there were a kitty co-star wasted in a stereotypical role, it is Jack, the scaredy cat character in this inexcusably atrocious time-waster about a supernatural serial killer terrorizing the police officer who sent him to the gas chamber. Jack is first seen munching on leftover pizza, while Detective Logan [...]

This Mexican horror film, from prolific producer-actor Abel Salazar, features a leaping kitty co-star, whose role is somewhat confusing: on the one hand, the black cat seems to be a Satanic familiar, signaling Samuel Magno (Enrique Rambal)’s deal with the Devil; on the other hand, the frisky feline seems aligned with Samuel’s disapproving mother (Ofelia [...]

This sequel of sorts to Batman Returns spins Catwoman off into her own film – the would-be beginning of a franchise that failed to materialize, thanks to poor box office returns. The problem is that Michael Pfieffer’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman is nowhere to be seen (unless you count a brief glimpse of a photo). Instead, we [...]

The low-budget opus belatedly attempts to cash in on Cat People, but it has little of the subtlety or style of the 1942 Val Lewton production. In a strange way, Cat Girl seems more old-fashioned than its model: the limited production values, melodramatic tone, and outdated attempts at spooky atmosphere suggest a cheap British rip-off [...]

I cag-blogged this classic horror film quite a while back, but at that time I did not have any good images besides the poster. Here are couple that show off the titular star (who actually has more of a cameo role in the movie, to justify the use of the Edgar Alan Poe title). [...]

That Lucio Fulci sure loved kitty cats, so much so that he made a film of Edgar Alan Poe’s THE BLACK CAT in 1981. That was not enough, however; cats also feature in DEMONIA (a rather ridiculous puppet) and in this 1990 flick, as seen below. I’ve never managed to track down [...]

Sorry, Caturday blogging arrives one day late this week. Sometimes there just are not enough hours in the day. Anyway, this week we take a look back at a monster movie classic from 50 years ago, THE FLY, starring Al (David) Hedison and Vincent Price. Pity poor Dandelo, one of the most [...]

One of the joys of Hong Kong Cinema is the sheer uninhibited exuberance of their fantasy films. The results can be wildly outrageous and entertaining – or, in this case, they can be a complete mess. This haphazard combo of horror, sci-fi, mystery, and action is a botch; fortunately, there is at least one outrageous [...]

I sort-of cat-blogged this movie last year, when it screened at the American Cinemathque, but in honor of its HD-DVD release, I’m giving it another go. Besides, I have a new image to present… Above, we see Nastassia Kinski with her feline alter ego in Paul Scrader’s 1982 remake of the 1942 classic. [...]

It’s Saturday – time for Cat Blogging! This week, we have our eyes on the kitty cameo in THE EYE 10, the second sequel to 2002’s THE EYE (the source of the current remake, which opened nationwide on Friday). The kitty cameo in THE EYE 10 Unlike the original EYE and its first sequel THE EYE 2, [...]

This is just a little joke in the tradition of Friday Cat Blogging…

For this week’s edition of Friday Cat Blogging, we’re taking a look at Jones, the mascot of the ill-fated spaceship Nostromo in 1979’s ALIEN.

Jones doesn’t get much screen time, but he does have some memorable moments and he plays a fairly significant role. Of course we all remember the scene wherein the crew are searching [...]

The 1956 sci-fi classic FORBIDDEN PLANET – starring Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis – will be screening tomorrow, July 7, at 2:00 and 8:00pm in the wonderful Alex Theatre.
Why FORBIDDEN PLANET – and why now? I haven no idea – the film’s 50th anniversary was last year, but better late than never, I say.
In [...]

“Cats are good. Half in, half out anyway.”
Modern culture evinces an ambivalent attitude toward cats. On the one hand, we know them as friendly house pets with a pleasantly soothing purr. On the other hand, we remember the myths that depict them as omens of bad luck and familiars of evil beings. The ambivalence [...]

For this edition of Friday Cat Blogging, consider Rufus, the unfortunate feline in RE-ANIMATOR, the film version of H. P. Lovecraft’s “Herbert West – Reanimator.” Rufus is briefly glimpsed while alive, jumping onto the back of Dan (Bruce Abbott) while he’s in bed with girlfriend Megan (Barbara Crampton). After Rufus goes missing, his body turns [...]

One of my favorite fright movie felines shows up briefly in CURSE OF THE DEMON (originally know in England as NIGHT OF THE DEMON). Although being only a sideshow, not the main attraction, he gets only minimal screen time, this cat makes a memorable impression.

Carswell introduces his cat: “His name is Grimalkin…very
fashionable name for an [...]

Since I just mentioned Barbara Steele, the Queen of Italian horror films, in this post, it seems appropriate that today’s installment of Friday Cat Blogging should feature a kitty from one of her atmospheric 1960s efforts.

One of the most amusing kitty cameos in the history of horror cinema takes place in the atmospheric Italian melodrama, Castle [...]

It’s been awhile since we did any cat blogging here, so now is as good a time as any to revive the popular Internet tradition. However, at Hollywood Gothique, unlike other weblogs, you get not an endless exhibition of photos of my cats; instead, you get glimpses of kitties appearing in famous fantasy films, mystery [...]

Yes, I know cat blogging is traditionally held on Fridays, but this video just wasn’t ready in time for this weekend and I just don’t want to wait until this Friday.
Check out our cat Gizmo – always an avid television watcher – as he sits in rapt amazement for a screening of DESTROY ALL PLANETS, [...]

After a long lapse, we resume the widescpread blogging tradition of posting cat photos on Friday. In our version of cat blogging, however, we like to show cats who have made memorable apperaances in horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films.
Dandelo the cat takes a small step for mankind while his owner (David Hedison) watches
This week’s famous [...]

 
In case you’ve forgotten, Tim Burton’s CORPSE BRIDE opens nationwide today. Click here to  find theatres playing the film.
In some message boards, I’ve noticed fans of Burton’s NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS speculating that a character from that 1993 stop-motion film makes a cameo appearance in CORPSE BRIDE. I think I’ve found the feline in question…

This cute stop-motion [...]