El ojo del gato

A stray cat thinly connects three tales of terror from the pen of Stephen King. The first is about a man named Dick Morrison (very good performance by James Woods) who is looking to quit smoking. He goes to Quitters Inc. where he meets Dr. Vinny Donatti (Alan King) who has some radical methods to make Woods smoke-free. Drew Barrymore also plays Woods' daughter. The second tale is about a former tennis pro named Johnny Norris (Robert Hays) who meets up with the hubby Cressner (Kenneth McMillian) of his lover. Hays gives in (not wanting to go to jail for the drugs Cressner has planted in his car) and tries to walk around the ledge (if memory serves correct it is on the 30th floor) to go around the building to try and win his love back. The final story and perhaps to me the weakest, although still good is about the cat (which now takes a starring role) battling a troll within young Drew Barrymore's bedroom. A big reason why this may be the weakest to me is because while it does have some great work by Carlo Rambaldi in creating the troll is there is some green screening going on. Which by my eye doesn't look very satisfying seeming the two images do not blend anywhere close to good together.

I would say this movie is like CREEPSHOW-light. Being rated PG-13 it is not loaded with gobs of gore and generally some younger audiences can watch this to get introduced to Stephen King's work.

The first two parts are based on King stories from the book NIGHT SHIFT, which I would recommend you read. Stephen King may be my favourite horror novelist and the author I have the read most of. His novels are generally pretty good, but to me it is his short stories to me really rock and I love the way he writes his shorter stories.

There are also nods to Stephen King films of this time frame as well, like CUJO (who director Lewis Teague also directed) and CHRISTINE in the opening. During the opening part Woods is watching THE DEAD ZONE as well. Finally in the final part Barrymore's mom is played by Candy Clark and is caught reading PET SEMATARY.

In the end I would recommend this one as I have enjoyed it many times over the years.

"Cat's Eye" is another horror anthology movie that I found to be a nice companion piece with "Twilight Zone: The Movie". The thing that surprised me about this film is that it's a suspense comedy loaded with thrills galore and dark humor. Instead of four separate tales, "Cat's Eye" has just three, with a plucky tabby cat intervening through all three stories. And all three segments are directed by the same man (Lewis Teague). Stephen King wrote all three segments, with the first two segments based on short stories written by King. The first segment is a black comedy starring James Woods in some of the funniest acting that he's ever done as a man who wants to quit smoking. He goes to a place called Quitters, Inc. This clinic is run by a most unusual doctor played by comedian Alan King. Woods finds out quickly that their methods of trying to make smokers quit are odd. Very, very odd. This story isn't really scary but it's downright hilarious with Woods trying desperately to kick the habit. King is also very funny as the doc. This is a very good segment. But my favorite segment of "Cat's Eye" is the second one. The late Kenneth McMillan stars as a ruthless gambler who kidnaps a tennis player (Robert Hays from "Airplane!") who's been doing a little you-know-what on his wife. McMillan makes a strange bet with the tennis pro: walk on top of a short ledge around the gambler's high rise building 50-60 stories up. This segment is a scary one, with a few touches of black humor (even though this segment isn't as funny as the first one). King wrote the third segment directly for the screen. He wrote it for a then very young pre-teen Drew Barrymore (who a year earlier starred in King's "Firestarter"). Barrymore plays a little girl who takes that tabby cat in to live with her after the cat runs into her house. The reason why the cat ran into her house: kitty spotted a little tiny gremlin strolling into the place. The cat comes in and tries to save the day. This segment is silly but fun. All in all, "Cat's Eye" is an underrated gem. Funny, scary, and entertaining.

*** (out of four)

Lewis Teague's "Cat's Eye" contains three wry,humorous and creepy stories linked to the cat which roams from one tale to the next.First up there is my personal favourite "Quitters Inc.",the story of family man Mr Morrison(James Woods)who goes to a very unconventional place to help people quit smoking and has his life turned into a living hell.Secondly,there is "The Ledge",the tale of a washed-up tennis player who is forced to walk around the ledge of a hotel by a rich mobster after the tennis player steals his wife.And finally there is "The General",which involves a cat saving a little girl(Drew Barrymore)from a tiny goblin that comes in the night to take children's souls.The three stories are linked together by a cat that traverses from New York to Atlantic City to North Carolina."Cat's Eye" is more comic than horrifying.Still I enjoyed it very immensely and you should too,if you are a fan of Stephen King and his works.8 out of 10.

An adaption of three of Stephen King's short stories, the linking theme being a cat whose purpose later becomes apparent. The first story, 'Quitters Inc' (from the book 'Night Shift') involves the titular company who will go to extreme lengths to ensure their clients quit the weed. 'The Ledge' (also from 'Night Shift') concerns a risky walk around a tall building. Both these stories are entertaining and filled with excellent humor and strong characters.

By comparison the third story, which is the climax to the whole thing, is pretty slow and dull, the only real humor being provided by a miniature troll-like creature. But this anthology is worth seeing for the first two stories alone, which are masterpieces.

"Cat's Eye" is a well-done anthology of three horror stories scripted by Stephen King, joined together by the presence of an adorable gray tabby. The first tale has James Woods enlisting in a mafia-run quit-smoking program (headed by a deliciously hammy Alan King); the second creates ample suspense as a washed-up tennis pro (Robert Hays) is made to climb alongside a downtown highrise at the whim of a demented gambler (Kenneth McMillan); and the third has our heroic tabby battling a troll that's stealing little Drew Barrymore's breath, in a segment that's actually quite amusing. As the PG-13 rating implies, the usual extremes of King's fiction are toned-down or removed (although there are a few vicious moments, including a briefly-seen severed head), but the film doesn't suffer from it, and actually gives the more lighthearted, humorous elements a chance to shine. Definitely worth a look.

6/10