Review of Cat People (1942) by Brian R — 28 Oct 2011

The horror is viewed as cheesy by today's standards but back in those days the frightful, scary scenes was considered a benchmark in filmmaking. Mainly because audiences never seen anything like it. This film uses a lot of light and shadows, hints of dread, creepiness, satanic, and even erotic themes stands in the forefront. "Cat People" is a master film of exploiting these themes in an almost perverted way.

Handed the exploitive title Cat People, RKO producer Val Lewton opted for a thinking man's thriller--a psychological mood piece, more reliant on suspense and suggestion than overt "scare stuff". Simone Simon plays an enigmatic young fashion artist who is curiously affected by the panther cage at the central park zoo. She falls in love with handsome Kent Smith, but loses him to Jane Randolph. After a chance confrontation with a bizarre stranger at a restaurant, Simon becomes obsessed with the notion that she's a Cat Woman--a member of an ancient Serbian tribe that metamorphoses into panthers whenever aroused by jealousy.