Strays - Blutige Krallen

A divorce attorney(Timothy Busfield)and his wife(Kathleen Quinlan)buy a desolate country home and are terrorized by a pack of wild, angry and hungry cats. Film does have its moments of panic and at times is actually scary. Otherwise pretty bland horror flick. I did enjoy the rainy, thunder filled scenes. The film's highlight for me was sister-in-law Claudia Christian(a real feline threat). Written and co-produced by Shaun Cassidy.

I've heard of a "wolf pack" (think Nazi U-boats). I've heard of the "Rat Pack" (think Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. etc.). Now we have the "Cat Pack": think gang of furry ferocious crazed felines on a bloodthirsty rampage in some old house out in the middle of nowhere, terrorizing a hapless young family, and you basically have the premise for this movie.

I can't say it's entirely a bad premise, but unfortunately it doesn't come off well in this movie. 'Lame and un-scary' doesn't begin to describe this mess of a film. My overall reaction: much like you'd do with a bad kitty who claws the sofa legs, you want to take a rolled up newspaper and give this movie a good swat on the rear end.

The acting by everyone involved is embarrasing (especially the wife and kid, who, traumatized by cat-induced fear and shock, overplay their overblown reactions so bad that you'd swear you'd seen better acting in your junior high school play). As for Claudia Christian, who later went on to fame and fortune in Babylon 5 as Susan Ivanova, well, the less said the better.

A great theme song for this movie would have been "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads - only with the name and lyrics changed to "Psycho Kitty". Now that would have been a nice touch. Meow. Purrrrrr.

What we have here is effectively a "nature runs amok" flick of the kind that has cheaply filled in the edges of the adventure, sci-fi, and horror genres for decades. The only difference is that the animals representing the antagonistic force of nature in this feature are stray cats; take that as you will. Factor in the picture's nature as a TV movie originally broadcast on the USA Network, and one way or another, we're in for a bit of a ride.

The character writing is quite formulaic; these figures are basically walking clichés. The chief cast assembled to portray them are faces familiar to moviegoers and channel-surfers from the early 90s, as Kathleen Quinlin, Timothy Busfield, and Claudia Christian are readily recognizable. They do their part to ably fill the roles they are given, and we've seen elsewhere what they're capable of, but here they're limited by very straightforward, uncomplicated writing. There are no real surprises in the narrative, and scene writing and dialogue is simply suitable. None of this is outright bad, but it is very ordinary, unremarkable, and all but pedestrian. As a result, what tension, suspense, or thrills we get are more perfunctory than they are visceral and impactful. It's written and shot in the style of a horror-thriller, but only manages to be passingly entertaining and enjoyable at even its most dire moments.

Merely adequate as the craft is in all meaningful ways, these are not even my greatest concern regarding 'Strays.' It's hard not to think that stories like this were not just borne from but also actively contributed to centuries-old misinformed superstitions and beliefs, misplaced fears, and general misunderstanding of felines that still persists today, leading to abuse, neglect, and otherwise animal cruelty. The feral colony at the center of the film is portrayed with a definite lack of realism - organized, consciously malicious, and extraordinarily violent. This movie is the embodiment of not just a phobia, but abject hatred of cats as further cemented in the somewhat bumbling husband and some of his dialogue. A few sparing lines from a veterinarian (William Boyett, another very visible face of film and TV) would seem to stand as a voice of reason ("What we're talking about here is a cat. Get a grip on yourself!"), but fail to achieve balance given the clear, overwhelming thrust of the narrative. I'm honestly a bit taken aback that the observers of the American Humane Society, who according to the credits affirmed that "no animals were harmed or injured," gave a pass on a movie that so concretely demonizes cats.

There are worse things you could watch than this. But it's a frankly common, average TV movie production, and while as a cat lover the very appearance of the felines earns at least a small point of favor, that modicum of worth - and what stimulation we should and would get out of this as a genre piece - is effectively negated by the way the film and its characters treat cats. A strong content warning is necessary for animal cruelty, in general but specifically at the climax, and neglect. There are things about this I want to like, but in my opinion 'Strays' is overall too undistinguished at best, and at worst too dicey and suspect, to truly enjoy.

Mid-2019 is actually the first time I have even heard of the 1991 movie "Strays". Being listed as a horror movie, and with me always having loved cats, of course I had to sit down and watch it as I had the chance.

Now, the word 'horror' might be a bit too much to use about "Strays". It wasn't really particularly scary. Actually, when you step back and look at the storyline, then it is actually a rather silly script and storyline. I mean, a family moving into a house and find themselves terrorized by a pack of stray cats. Sure, it was fun to watch. But realistic? No, not even in the least. Especially since humans are far better equipped for handling themselves against felines, so it made little sense that the cats could cause so much havoc and distress for the family members.

"Strays" was definitely a campy and cheesy horror movie, but that was also what made the movie watchable. It was such an outrageous storyline that you just wanted to keep watching and see what happens next, and see how humans are outwitted by cats. Yeah, so very, very realistic.

The movie actually was surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining for what it turned out to be. But it is hardly a movie that you'll watch more than once. I hadn't heard about it before 2019, and I doubt that I will ever sit down to watch it ever again, as it just didn't have enough material to it to support multiple viewings.

The acting in the movie was adequate, taking into consideration the limitations of the script and storyline.

All in all, a mediocre movie with some watchable value to it, but hardly an outstanding movie in the horror genre.

Back then, things were more engrossing on the television. Before The Jersey Shore, and those other pop culture "reality" shows. This was pretty anxiety driven, and kept me tense. I liked it. But, I am old and came up with stuff in this format and script. I think if we got back to stuff like this, maybe pigs could stop killing us in the street, and we'd get along better. Cat violence always makes sense... I guess. Also, I accidentally found out that her sister in this is also in "The Hidden". Another great movie.