The Werewolf Café / Cat People (1982).

HarryCanyon · 2010-04-09 16:16:42

Now this is a highly underrated but great lycanthrop movie that does count as a werewolf movie but more were-panther.

This one is an excellent reimagining of 1942's horror classic as it stars Malcom Mcdowell, John Heard, Annette O'Toole and Natasia Kinsky about an ancient race of cat-like lyncathrops who were born from Panthers when children were magically sacrificed to them as they can only make love with their own kind even if they are relatives otherwise they will transform into panthers that must kill to become human again and if a human keeps continue to mate with a cat person then he or she would become one of them. A young woman comes to New Orleans to be with her lost brother as she refuses to believe in the legend of where she originally came from including him as she still loves this handsome zoo-keeper.

Loved this since i was a teenager back in the 90's as i did watched the original movie first then this one, they are both very different. Who thinks this one is as good as the other old school horror remakes like The Thing, The Fly, The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978, Cape Fear and Night of the Living Dead? and was this remake done for the sake of cash like some of today's horror remakes or was it done by a talented filmmaker who cared about the original material?

zockereinstein · 2010-04-09 19:00:38

In the eighties the directors weren't afraid of doing what they wanted to do and showed some interesting things on screen. They didn't have huge budgets or cgi, and their artworks are still the reference for every director of terror movies today... what has gone wrong these last years? The hand of producers just interested in money? The stupidity of brainwashed teenagers who love sparkling vampires? Who knows...

Daninsky · 2010-04-10 06:57:15

O-M-G!
The only worthwhile thing about that movie is Nastassja Kinski and the new mythology they introduced.
Well that and the transformation sequence, really liked that one.
The story would have had a lot of potential, though.

Problem is that a further remake would only get worse, wound up as they currently are in using CGI to do _everything_.

HarryCanyon · 2010-04-10 07:40:00

But do you think it's as good as the other old school horror remakes i mentioned and was this remake done for the cash of cash like some of today's remakes or was it done by a filmmaker who is visionary and wanted to retell an old audience for a new audience?

Do you think this remake has more in common with "The Howling" and "An American Werewolf in London" than 1942's classic? and does this count as a Werewolf movie?

zockereinstein · 2010-04-10 08:56:59

HarryCanyon wrote:
But do you think it's as good as the other old school horror remakes i mentioned and was this remake done for the cash of cash like some of today's remakes or was it done by a filmmaker who is visionary and wanted to retell an old audience for a new audience?

Do you think this remake has more in common with "The Howling" and "An American Werewolf in London" than 1942's classic? and does this count as a Werewolf movie?

These are quite a bunch of questions.
The first one: no, it's not the work of a "visionary" man or else, it is just something created to get money... as most of films are. But yes, they refresh the old ideas from cat people to a new audience, because believe me, the old one has become ,ehem, old.
About the next question, yes, it has some more in common with Howling and AAWIL then the 1942 movie. It is a matter of the way the terror movies were made in the 80's. And well, I tried to generalise when the truth is that many of the 80's terror movies were terribly bad, but in some sense, the bad movies of those day are far much better than the bad movies made today, because at least they were sincere on their intentions: you knew that it was a bad movie, but they squeezed their budgets to the maximum, not like today (for example, darkwolf , where all the low budget went to pay the actors and none was left for the fx).
And the last one is the most difficult. She is not a werewolf. But the concept is the same as a werewolf movie. So in some way is more a "werewolf movie" than other movies with werewolves on them (let's say, twilight saga or so).

Daninsky · 2010-04-10 13:17:48

HarryCanyon wrote:
But do you think it's as good as the other old school horror remakes i mentioned and was this remake done for the cash of cash like some of today's remakes or was it done by a filmmaker who is visionary and wanted to retell an old audience for a new audience?

TBH I didn't like the remake of The Thing much either, I think it lacks some real suspense, but it has the advantage of being a lot closer to the original story.

Loved the other remakes, they were all worthy re-tellings (didn't see Cape Fear, though, and I still prefer the originals in most cases, especially The Blob, I love how serious it takes itself, that is something I miss with the new version).

I don't think that Schrader is a visionary filmmaker, and that was the crux of the Cat People remake (well, that and the fact that it was a cash-in project on the unexpected succes of AWIL as it looks). They took a highly original psychological horror story, threw away the psychology and emphasized the sexuality, and this could really have worked, hadn't Schrader been so focused on getting the sex in that he completly forgot that sex only works when you sustain a erotic atmosphere.
Nastassja is hot, no doubt, but the setting is quite cold and distached, also the movie just waffles around for a lot of time and is never sure how far to take the story.

Do you think this remake has more in common with "The Howling" and "An American Werewolf in London" than 1942's classic? and does this count as a Werewolf movie?

Well, the original Cat People was more interested in telling a psychological tale than straight horror, in that the remake is certainly closer to AWIL or Howling.

I tend to line-up the Cat-People horror movies with my Werewolf movies, I see them as closely enough related.

Last edited by Daninsky (2010-04-10 13:21:18)

HarryCanyon · 2010-04-18 01:24:56

Who else thought Miss Kinsky was quite sexy for being a Sailor Mercury-type short haired chick with small knockers like Milla Jovovich?

metalbeast · 2010-04-21 23:21:18

^ I Did!

Garouda · 2010-04-29 03:54:57

I have always been very fond of this edition of cat people. It was played very stylistically and with great suggestive effects.

Also lets not forget the Music Contractor for this film: Giorgio Moroder. This film has a wonderful soundtrack that stands well on its own. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Moroder

HarryCanyon · 2010-05-04 21:03:06

Anyone finds the werewolves in the Twilight novels and New Moon similar to the Cat People in this movie? they are lycanthropes that can change at will even during anger or sexual desire, Jacob who desire Bella is basically like Paul from this movie as he walks sometimes shirtless like Paul as he has a desire for a girl but can transform into an actual beast but must kill an animal to reverse the process of being human again.

#1 2010-04-09 16:16:42

Cat People (1982).

#2 2010-04-09 19:00:38

Re: Cat People (1982).

#3 2010-04-10 06:57:15

Re: Cat People (1982).

#4 2010-04-10 07:40:00

Re: Cat People (1982).

#5 2010-04-10 08:56:59

Re: Cat People (1982).

HarryCanyon wrote:

#6 2010-04-10 13:17:48

Re: Cat People (1982).

HarryCanyon wrote:

#7 2010-04-18 01:24:56

Re: Cat People (1982).

#8 2010-04-21 23:21:18

Re: Cat People (1982).

#9 2010-04-29 03:54:57

Re: Cat People (1982).

#10 2010-05-04 21:03:06

Re: Cat People (1982).

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