Cat’s Eye (1985)
Featuring: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Robert Hays
Directed By: Lewis Teague
Cat’s Eye is a rarity. With Stephen King’s name attached and a PG-13 rating, many seasoned horror fans might instinctively fear the worst. We would all be wrong. I am not too proud to say so.
The movie itself is an anthology of three short horror pieces. Each story is connected by a single cat, who is traveling across some untold distance to save a young girl named Amanda. Each is quirky in its own way, even if the second story too-closely resembles one penned by King for Creepshow. The third tale, with a still-young Drew Barrymore(Batman Forever) is probably the best loved and best remembered. It is also the conclusion of the wraparound story.
James Woods(Videodrome) and Robert Hays(Airplane!) do wonderful work in the lead roles of the first two stories. Stephen King turns crime and punishment into macabre fun and games. Cat’s Eye even ends with a satisfying display of gore. It may be the only one, but it’s worth waiting for.
The third story relies a lot on strong visuals. The visual effects frequently come across looking like poor imitations of the famous Harryhausen style. Still, there’s something working for this movie if it’s the worst feature of a PG-13 Stephen King movie.
Cat’s Eye is fun without being ridiculously silly. It’s engaging without falling into cheap tropes. It has the flavor of watching the kinds of horror series that HBO would later put on the air. This isn’t going to scare the pants off of anyone, but it will deliver some thrill-ride chills just the same.
Weighted score: 6.75/10.
Get some hot popcorn and some cold soda. Enjoy the ride.
Other thoughts.
- Robert Hays picked the wrong week to give up gambling.
- “Forget the cat, you hemorrhoid!” has been written and placed in a Hollywood motion picture. Please let no one else ever commit it to any form of art instead.
- I’m showing my age with the Videodrome and Airplane! mentions.
(I am currently in the process of reviewing every horror DVD on my shelf in alphabetical order. Stephen King will appear at least once more with Creepshow. Stay tuned. Next on the agenda is the early William Malone film Creature.)
