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Film: Cat’s Eye
Year: 1985
Director: Lewis Teague
Writer: Stephen King
Starring: Drew Barrymore, James Woods and Alan King
Review:
This is an anthology film that is based around a screenplay by the master of horror, Stephen King. My history is that I used to catch this in parts on the movie channels. It wasn’t until picking up the DVD to watch when working through the Horror Show Guide Encyclopedia. I now gave it a watch for my Voyage through the FiVes.
Synopsis: a stray cat is the linking elements of three tales of suspense and horror.
Something to include here is another element is cameos by a young Drew Barrymore. Wild that was already a veteran in the industry by now. The cat continues to see her image as it tries to make its way to her. I believe it also goes to three different cities on its journey.
Our first tale is based on the short story of King entitled ‘Quitters Inc.’ This is about a company that has nefarious ways of getting its clients to quit smoking. The main character is Dick Morrison (James Woods) The cat is picked up outside of a store and is used in a demonstration of how this company works. The man in charge of helping Dick is Vinny Donatti (Alan King). The consequences of smoking are dangerous for Dick’s family. Paranoia grows as he thinks he sees people watching his every move. He sees how serious they are as well.
The second is also based on a King short called ‘The Ledge’. This is about a tennis pro, Johnny Norris (Robert Hays), trying to run away with a married man’s wife. This man is a gambler named Cressner (Kennth McMillan). He has a game for Johnny to play where he must walk around a ledge around the building to survive, get the girl and money. Can Cressner claims he’s never reneged on a bet, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a trick up his sleeve.
The final story is called ‘General’. The cat has made it to a little girl named Amanda (Barrymore) in Wilmington, North Carolina. She wants to keep it, but her mother isn’t on board. Her mother is Sally Ann (Candy Clark). That night a troll appears from the wall to take Amanda’s breath. It kills her parakeet on accident, which General gets blamed for. Sally wants to put it down and goes about capturing the animal to take to the shelter. General will do what it can to save Amanda before it is too late.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. What I’ll say is that reflecting on this and rereading my review, this might be my third watch overall. I’ve also read the collection by King, Night Shift, where ‘Quitters Inc.’ and ‘The Ledge’ are. Both stuck out to me and got under my skin. Since we have the same production team, I’ll break down what I like and just treat this as an overall product.
Now that I’ve set that up, let’s explore Quitters Inc. This is interesting, because smoking is one of the hardest addictions to quit from what I heard. By putting your family on the line, it makes you consider what you would do in that situation. I thought the acting for it was good. Woods is the star and does a great job. His paranoia is so real and you feel horrible when he gives in to his addiction. There’s a great stinger at the end that I didn’t remember.
Then over to ‘The Ledge’. I remember this story getting my anxiety going when I read it. I’m terrified of heights so seeing Hayes on the ledge made me nervous. I know it’s not even real which makes it better. To make matters worse he has McMillan messing with him as he tries to get across. The interesting thing here though is that Hays is in the wrong. He is seeing a married woman, but you don’t feel as bad when see how horrible McMillan is. The acting in this one was a little bit mediocre though since it goes too comedic. It doesn’t help that when I see Hayes, I think of Stryker from Airplane! It doesn’t ruin it. I just think ramping up that vertigo feeling of being trapped would help for sure.
Finally, over to ‘General’. I used to think this was the weakest of the segments. This concept of a troll like this coming from the wall is terrifying. There’s a great touch here where the father, played by Hugh (James Naughton), mocks his mother-in-law with the folklore that she believes in. How they brought the creature to life was good. It is an interesting blend forced perspective and effects by Carlo Rambaldi. This time I thought these held up well enough. I did like that Frank Welker did the voice of it. Both are legends in their departments. The stray cat coming to Amanda’s aid brings heart. Barrymore was fine in her role. She’s adorable. I even like her parents, Clark and Naughton. I’m come around to enjoying this segment more.
Now something you should know if you don’t already is that I prefer my anthologies to have a wraparound. What is done to tie the stories with the cat being pulled into each story together works. Barrymore is also Dick’s daughter at a boarding school nearby and an actor on TV in ‘The Ledge’. Other than that, I thought the cinematography and framing were good across the board. Credit again to the tension used for ‘Quitters Inc.’ of this fear always being watched. Then subtly confirm it. The other effects were solid. Going practical always makes me smile. The soundtrack also fits what was needed.
In conclusion, this is an above average anthology film that uses three stories from a master of horror, King. ‘Quitters Inc.’ is still my favorite but I’ve come around to ‘General’. They all work well in the confines as well as being connected by this stray cat and Barrymore. She’s great and adorable in the final segment. The rest of the cast are solid around her, being led by Woods, Clark and Naughton. No one is bad. This is also well made with the cinematography, framing and sound design. If anything, I wish they amped up that vertigo feeling for ‘The Ledge’. I think that vaults this into that higher category for me. How it stands though, this one flies by which I appreciate.
My Rating: 7 out of 10