The Black Cat (1981)

Amidst the glut of Lucio Fulci’s “gonzo gore” period of films like “Zombie” and “The Gates of Hell” comes this remarkably restrained film very loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name. A small rural village is being plagued by a series of recent bizarre deaths, with the townspeople pointing their fingers towards a reclusive medium named Miles (Patrick Magee), who supposedly records the voices of the dead in the local graveyard. Besides being an all around eccentric type, Miles also has a bizarre psychic relationship with his black cat, which is seemingly causing the murders by various indirect means. Is Miles controlling the cat or is the cat controlling Miles? As the locals start dropping left and right, it’s up to the team of an American photographer (Mimsy Farmer) and a Scotland Yard investigator (David Warbeck) to get to the bottom of things. With nary a zombie or exploding head in sight, just what do we have here?

I like how another reviewer described this film as being Fulci’s effort in making a “Hammer Studio” movie. The emphasis this time around is on overall mood and atmosphere, something Fulci’s zombie efforts always possessed, but just not in the abundance that is on display here. From dank underground crypts to fog enshrouded graveyards, “The Black Cat” is rich in a creepy and gothic vibe, enhanced even more so as Sergio Salvati’s camera prowls about the various graveyards and creepy old buildings, complete with some feline POV shots to give the viewer that “look through the eyes of a murderous kitty” vibe. Meow. Accompanying the lush photography is a very nice score by Pino Donaggio, capturing the mood of the film perfectly, and one that really should be released to CD. Euro-cult movie buffs will have their hands filled with the various cast members, as we get none other than Al “Zombie” Cliver, David “The Beyond” Warbeck, Patrick “A Clockwork Orange” Magee” and last but not least, Mimsy “Four Flies On Grey Velvet” Farmer. Whew. Everyone involved does reasonably well, and I couldn’t for the life of me stop comparing Mimsy Farmer to Uma Thurman!?

While there is hardly the amount of blood and gore on display when compared to Fulci’s other films from this period, I was surprised to see several sequences of violence that most assuredly would have never gotten past the MPAA. Besides all the painful kitty scratches, Fulci delivers a rather nasty feline induced auto accident, a man falling on a bed of spikes, a couple suffocating to death and then chewed up by rats, and, last but not least, a rather uncomfortable scene of a woman burning to death. Sure, the violence here can hardly be compared to “Zombie” or “The Beyond” but this is still a Fulci film, and the bloodless reputation that precedes it can hardly be justified. However….

However, all the gothic atmosphere and nifty camera shots in the world can’t stop you from noticing that after a rather decent start, the film really becomes quite tedious after the forty-five minute mark. The pacing of the film just simply slows to an eventual crawl, and the plot simply becomes to confusing as to exactly just what the hell is going on. Let’s face it, Fulci’s films have never been very strong on following a linear plot, and “The Black Cat” is a prime example. By the time the film’s conclusion has rolled around you’ll either be scratching your head or well on your way to dreams of a nude Auretta Gay serving you martini’s on a zombie infested beach.

In conclusion, is “The Black Cat” really as bad as most have labeled it? Not in the least. Besides being a beautifully shot piece of gothic horror, this one shows off Fulci’s power as a director more so than any other film besides perhaps “The Beyond” or my personal favorite, “The House By The Cemetery”. The film’s various plot hang-ups and it’s slow and almost, well, boring, pace however, prevent it from being on par with many of the maestro’s other genre offerings. For patient Fulci and Euro-horror fans, “The Black Cat” is definitely worth a view. Mainstream moviegoers however, will probably have a hard time staying awake.