Cat's Eye

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.

A trilogy of entertaining black humor. The first story is the strongest with the best stars. Alan King is deliciously evil as the head of Quitters, Inc., an anti-smoking group that uses mob tactics to stop its members from smoking. James Woods is excellent as Alan King's newest client.

The middle story is somewhat weaker entry starring Kenneth McMillan as a mobster who makes a lethal bet with Robert Hays after Hays steals his wife from him. A good story but not as good as the first.

The last story is the weakest entry of the three. An evil troll is out to steal Drew Barrymore's breath in this silly story. Our title cat tries to prevent that. The special effects for the troll doll are pretty good and the ending is funny. All-in-all an entertaining entry in the Stephen King collection of movies. A C+/B-

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.

Stephen King goes to the Twilight Zone in this anthology all connected to a cat who is looking for a distressed girl.

In fact the first two stories could easily sit alongside Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Director Lewis Teague is just the right director for this type of movie. A graduate of Roger Corman's school of filmmaking and he had done an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

The first story has James Woods who tries to stop smoking. He visits a company that will make him stop or his loved one will suffer. He demonstrates it by electruciting the floor of a room which the cat is in.

Woods is tempted to smoke knowing he might put his wife in danger. It is blackly humorous and he realises once you stop smoking, do not put on weight.

The second story involves a casino boss who makes a bet with his wife's lover, Robert Hays. If Hays manages to walk around the thin ledge of a high rise building he can have his wife, if he does not Hays will be framed for dealing in drugs which has been planted in his car.

As Hays walks around the ledge the casino boss keeps things interesting by trying to put him off. However Hays gets an opportunity to the turn the tables.

The final story features Drew Barrymore as the troubled girl calling out to the cat. At night she is pestered by a malevolent troll who tries to steal her breath, the cat arrives to do battle with the troll.

Teague makes reference to other Stephen King adaptations. We see Cujo and Christine make Hitchcock type appearances and even the The Dead Zone is shown playing on television.

The first two stories are very effective in a twisted humorous way. The final story feels too long and seems more aimed at kids in a Grimm fairytale type of way.

"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)