Cat's Eye

Cat's Eye (1985) was another film that was based upon the written work of Stephen King. Two of the three stories were taken form the short story collection NIGHT SHIFT. The movie is actually a decent watch and fans of the original source material will enjoy it as well as the average fan. An added bonus is the fact that the man himself wrote the screenplay!!

The movie is about a cat that has many adventures. Along it's way, an image of a girl keeps the cat going to it's destination. Along the way, he meets a man who has a smoking problem who'll go to great lengths to try and snuff his habit and the other is a broken down tennis player who's given a chance to redeem himself by completing a simple task. The cat's final destination is a girl who's tormented by a nasty little dude. WIll the cat affect those that cross it's past? What is that little dude that lives in the hole in the wall? All answers will be answered when you watch CAT"S EYE!

A good adaptation and a nice film. The only thing I didn't like was the silliness of the last episode. Some of the events in the final chapter come off as very contrived and clichéd. Other than that I had no problems. An enjoyable movie.

Recommended.

Stephen King adapted two of his short stories and wrote the third into this screenplay of suspense. The first story concerns a man (James Woods) trying to quit smoking by signing up for a clinic. That clinic just happens to be run by the mafia and they literally mean quit smoking with a seriously tough employee (Alan King) behind it. Even if it means tampering with your family's lives. The second concerns an again tennis pro (Robert Hays) who takes on the game of his life after having an affair with a mobster who is a gambling addict. The third follows a cat trying to protect a little girl whose being terrorised by a little demon jester. The suspense is good. Alan King is very good as the seriously tough employee and Woods is always good.

The second is very good with a surprising twist at the end and the third is a take on of old fairy tales where good triumphs over evil.

"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

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.

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.