Review of Cat People (1942) by Michael S — 30 Sep 2013

For its swiftness, subtlety and utter conviction in its far-fetched ideas, this still retains a breathtaking power after all these years. As the first of Val Lewton's minimalist, yet ever so psychologically and thematically rich, forays into RKO B-pictures, we are treated to an amuse bouche of mood and imagery where exactly what you imagine is as frightening as what is being proposed on screen.

Director Jacques Tourneur relishes in at least two masterful sequences of a woman being stalked in public, the bustling city setting of this film having been rendered terrifyingly moot in the face of its suggested mythic horrors.

These films are the cinematic equivalent of the campfire's shadows adding heart pounding embellishment to the tales being told. You can throw these on at any time and appreciate something unique, but turn off the lights and light a few candles - and beware.

The substantial spookiness these films deliver is hard to shake off.