Cat People (1982)

Wow, what a finale to this year. No money—no wait, like, negative money—a car accident, an absentee girlfriend, and no job prospects. What better time to watch Paul Schraeder's Cat People, starring John Heard, Malcolm McDowell, and Nastassja Kinski? AND to receive the bonus gift of a soundtrack by Georgio Moroder and David Bowie?

Mr. Schrader is best known as the writer of Taxi Driver (1975), and Raging Bull (1980). He's also a crafty academic of cinema, writing a book on Bresson and Dreyer. Cat People is not a great movie by any means, but a fine stylistic example of 80s cinema. One of the few 'arty' horror films that I will remember watching, though. It's mainly about a 'family' of half people/half cats which started in ancient times when a leopard seeded a young cave maiden. Kinski looks hot as fark in this as a demure cat-temptress hounded by her horny cat-brother, with John Heard's character, a zoologist, caught in the middle. It was fun to watch and found that the week after, while at a friend's house, that the cat of the house nuzzled next to me immediately. My friend told me that that cat rarely does that for anyone. Is it because I watched Cat People? Maybe. But it's mostly because I probably smelled like a homeless person.