Gato Negro

The plot of "The Black Cat" is a real doozy that might have you biting your tongue: creepy old medium Patrick Macnee (who's really overdoing the quivering monotone thing here) supposedly has a psychic link with a black cat, who he orders to kill the residents of a small village. Fulci does well with the flamboyant material, and keeps piling on the gore, atmosphere, and dark sets with gusto. For the most part, the cast (including Euro-vets Mimsy Farmer, David Warbeck, and Al Cliver) doesn't take the material any more seriously than they have to, resulting in some unintentional (but welcome) comic relief. Granted, this isn't "House by the Cemetery"-caliber, but it's not bad, either. 3 out of 5 stars.

"The Black Cat" is an interesting and atmospheric 'stab' at being an English Gothic film. The first half is has more gore and succeeds in heightening the suspense only for a rather ineffective summation and climax. Patrick Magee plays the part of a median who controls the mind of a cat.

The deaths are suitably impressive and deserved by the characters concerned aside from the supremely sexy Mrs Grayson (Giallo/Sleaze/Horror favorite Dagmar Lassander) who never fails to 'light up' the screen.

Not Fulci's best; but reasonably enjoyable nonetheless.

6/10 (I refuse to grade films out of four stars)

An unusually restraint film for a Fulci picture made in the early 1980s. A picturesque vision of gothic horror that's done in the style of an Italian gothic or Hammer horror film from the 1960s. I think Fulci's attempt here was to make a film in the manner of Hammer horror or Corman's Poe pictures, which would involve little of the director's usual gory antics. There are some violent scenes, and the most brutal scene in terms of gore or death is the one involving Lillian Grayson. Il Gatto Nero/The Black Cat(1980) relies more on atmosphere, mood, and tension, than gory set pieces, which was a change of tune for Fulci after the bloody violence of Zombie(1979), The Smuggler(1980), and City of the Living Dead(1980).

Its not one of his best works, but it is a beautiful looking film, with some gracious camerawork, and impressive visuals. Based loosely on the Edgar Allen Poe short story, of which this film has no direct relationship to the plot of that horror story. The closet the film comes is during the sequence that comes near the very end of the picture. The climax is an encore of the climatic moment in Sette Note in Nero/Seven Notes in Black(1977). The POV of the cat prowling around during the opening credits scene is handled with visual spectre by Sergio Salvati.

The casting of Patrick Magee as Robert Miles is one of the best parts of The Black Cat(1980). Magee gives a performance that shows why he was a master in playing eccentric and mentally troubled characters in films like A Clockwork Orange(1971), and Marat/Sade(1970). One of five or six excellent actors to have a role in a Lucio Fulci film. He portrays in his character emotions of fear, hate, and menace just by his expressions of his face and eyes, which are more effectively presented when viewing the film in widescreen. Atmospheric and eerie use of its British locales that rivals that of Jorge Grau's Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974).

One scene, which reaches the dreamlike style of Fulci's other gothic pics from the early 80s is the moment when the house that Jill Travels lives in shakes, and rocks around in a frenzy after the hanging Miles cat. Its an eerie sequence that is one of the best in the film. Daniela Doria once again plays a character who comes to a gruesome end(seems to be her only function in a Fulci film). David Warbeck does ok as Inspector Gorley, but his performance here is nowhere near as good as in The Beyond(1981). The Mrs. Grayson death scene borders on the effective and ridiculous without moving totally into the realm of the latter.

Mimsy Farmer gives a bland performance here that is short of the good performances given by Catriona MacColl, who was better at making a Fulci's heroine a little more dimensional. The editing is smooth looking and fluid compared to the erratic editing of City of the Living Dead(1980), which was a weakness for that film. The death of Ferguson is crafted with hand shaking suspense and a creative payoff. Fulci's director is flamboyant and yet simple in the same time. Overall, an entertaining horror film that is one of Fulci's most underrated films, and one despite its flaws is worthwhile for anyone that loves Euro-horror, Fulci horror, or just horror films in general.

Italy's 'godfather of gore', Lucio Fulci, serves up less splatter and more atmosphere than usual in this surprisingly enjoyable movie (loosely based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe) about a malevolent moggy murdering people in rural England.

Fulci's directorial decision-making is sometimes questionable (just how many close-ups of eyes do you need in one film?), but with a reliable cast that should be familiar to fans of Italian horror, some nice cinematography, several creative deaths (which, whilst not as quite as gory as in other Fulci efforts, are still quite horrific), and a wonderful score from Pino Donaggio, this often overlooked Gothic tale is actually pretty good.

Set in a small English town, The Black Cat sees the titular feline causing a series of deaths after tapping into the suppressed hatred of its psychic owner (Patrick Magee). When the crazy medium finally cottons on to what is happening, he tries to do away with the cat, drugging it and then stringing it up from a tree. But the whiskery menace is no ordinary puss, returning from the dead to exact revenge on its ungrateful owner.

Mimsy Farmer also stars as a pretty American photographer caught up in the supernatural mystery, along with David Warbeck as a police inspector from the city who is called in to help solve the mystery, and Al Cliver as a local rozzer.

A lot of Fulci fans might be put off from watching this effort by the fact that it doesn't contain graphic scenes of eye impalement, head drilling, or gut vomiting, preferring instead to concentrate on generating an eerie vibe. I suggest, even if your love of Fulci is purely down to his usually over-generous servings of gore, that you still give The Black Cat a chance.

The death scenes in this one might not be as violently OTT as in his better known films, but Fulci doesn't entirely wimp out on the nastiness: there are a couple of burnings, an impalement, and one unfortunate couple get nibbled on by rats. Plus, you get a story that mostly makes sense.

And in a Fulci film, you can't really ask for much more than that.

I really don't care what anyone says; "The Black Cat" is pretty damn cool. As far as the gore goes, it's not excessive as most of Fulci's films are, but it doesn't need to be. That being said, this film is not for the faint of heart. If you watched it with your grandma or someone who has not been jaded by the blood and guts in Italian horror films, you'd see it from a different side. A dude gets impaled, a girl burns to death, rotting corpses are found in a hot boat shack, and a cat repeatedly rips the flesh off a guy's face, goring him up. I mean, it's not "New York Ripper" but it's not a slasher film. It's more like a giallo.

This film is most notable for the brilliant cinematography. The shots from the cat's point of view are awesome. And then there's the excellent acting (for a Fulci film). Mimsy Farmer is decent! And the other dude, Patrick Magee from "Clockwork Orange" isn't bad either. Better than other Fulci stuff for sure.

The fact that the acting is above par and the fact that there isn't a constant onslaught of gore has contributed to the low rating on here. The film is a good giallo-style horror movie and it oozes with old school ambiance and mood. The soundtrack is great and all in all, it's a great adaptation of the Poe story.

I recommend it to Italian horror fans who can stand to be entertained without seeing people get disemboweled.

7 out of 10, kids.