Cat's Eye (1985)

For some reason, most people like to dismiss this film as yet another lame Stephen King adaptation, and I'm not really sure why. "Cats Eye" is one of the better films in the Anthology department, delivering three entertaining segments to the viewer. The first, "Quitters Inc." is the best and most realized story. James Woods (in a great performance) portrays a smoker desperately trying to kick the habit, and upon recommendation from a friend, signs up for a stop smoking program from the folks at Quitters Inc. Let's just say that Quitters Inc. has some very unorthodox ways of helping their clients kick the habit. Light that smoke after you enroll in this program, and you just might find your wife thrown in a shock room or perhaps minus a finger or two. They may be harsh, but these folks certainly have a high success rate! "Cat's Eye" is worth renting just for this segment alone. The second tale, "The Ledge" deals with a big time gambler who catches a dude messing around with his wife. The bet here is if the guy can walk around the outside ledge of a high-rise apartment building, he gets cash and the guy's wife. If he does'nt, well...can you say SPLAT? This one got to me for the simple fact that I have a fear of heights, and the optical f/x really works well to exaggerate this fear. The last one, "The General", is sort of a cutesy type affair with Drew Barrymore's cat going one on one with a troll hiding in her bedroom wall. Lighthearted stuff sure, but entertaining nonetheless. All segments are well acted and the f/x while not bloody, is well executed. On a side note, I detected a sort of anti-cat vibe in the wraparound story that was actually a little uncomfortable. Watch it and see if you too pick up on this. The hardest scene to watch here was the part where the cat gets tossed in the shock room...that actually disturbed me a bit. Besides the cat abuse, this one is good fun if you are in a horror-lite mood.