Monday, October 31, 2011

84. The Black Cat

The Black Cat
1934

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!



I am writing in this hideous orange color in honor of the holiday.  I love to have feasts of candy and movie marathons on Halloween.  Today I am watching: The Black Cat, Child's Play, Audition, and possibly Funny Games.  I love this holiday!


So don't get excited; this film has nothing to do with the Edgar Allen Poe story.  It is closer to...it hurts to even say the name of this movie...The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  I despise that movie, but there will be plenty of time to talk about that when that review comes (I know you can't wait).  A couple is trapped in a mansion in Hungary after a car accident.  Dracula costars.


First of all, I was disappointed that "The Black Cat" didn't have anything to do with the movie.  The fact that it resembled that film was salt in the wound.  I thought it was kind of boring.  I was all ready to be scared and then it was just lame.


RATING: **---


Interesting Facts:


The director used the name Black Cat so people would go see it, thinking that it was the Poe story.  Well played.


The villain was partly based on Fritz Lang.


If you want to watch a scary movie today my recommendations are Ringu, Psycho, Paranormal Activity, or Blair Witch Project.  Those are the scariest movies I have ever seen.


Available on YouTube.  First part: 





7 comments:

  1. The reason to watch this is to see Karloff and Lugosi facing off. Karloff is menacing, Lugosi not so much and the the story is, well, camp.

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    1. I have completely forgotten about this movie!

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  2. If you are riding on a train and the conductor comes in to apologise, but, would you mind sharing your compartment with Bela Lugosi, then for God's sake JUST SAY NO! This isn't going to end well.

    Furthermore, when you all disembark at 2am and board a bus which then crashes in torrential rain killing the driver, why on Earth would you take Bela's advice to go and knock on Boris Karloff's door for help? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???!?!

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    1. Haha you would be fun to watch horror movies with.

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  3. As a kid I loved all the Hammer horror films. BBC showed one or two very late on Saturday nights and I religiously recorded them all on VHS (ha!) so I could watch them the next day and then keep them forever (ha!).

    These days I find horror a turn-off. Maybe the modern-day setting doesn't do it for me, preferring something Gothic. Maybe it's doing its job properly and unsettling me but I'm too proud to admit it to myself so take the easy way out and categorise the films as not to my taste.

    I'm actually more of a meta commentator when forced to watch a rom-com. Why are these people together? She's clearly an idiot! He's such a schmuck, he'd make a terrible husband! What a sexist attitude! That's not a happy ending, that relationship won't last three more dates!

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    1. Have you seen They Came Together? Great parody of romcoms.

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