Confessions of a Psycho Cat

This decidedly odd little cult classic doesn't really seem to know what it wants to be. On one hand, it's a violent thriller, on another it's an absurd comedy; and it's all filmed in the style 'nouvelle vogue' style of films such as Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless! This sort of curio coming together can sometimes work well together, but the result with this film seems more messy than anything else, and while I imagine Quentin Tarantino got quite a kick out of this, I didn't...at least, not really. There are actually some really good scenes in this film, such the 'bull fighting' scene and the ending, but the way that these scenes are implemented in the plot doesn't offer much in the way of interest, which harms the finished product. The plot is no doubt interesting, and follows a young woman who invites three men to her house. After telling them of a game, she sends them away with the knowledge that once they receive a cheque for $100,000 from her, they will have to survive 24 hours in Manhattan before being allowed to cash it in. The only catch here is that she'll be hunting them down...

The plot takes obvious influence from the 1932 classic 'The Most Dangerous Game' as it follows the idea of a human prey, but it's also obvious that Herb Stanley's film isn't too interested in it's plot, and more concerned with jumping on the sixties exploitation bandwagon, as many scenes (sex scenes in particular) exist for no other reason than to ensure that the film got the exploitation classification. This actually got on my nerves as the plot is interesting; yet not a great deal of screen time is devoted to it. The way that the film has an upper class woman as the hunter is fun, and the juxtaposition between her class status and the game she's playing works well in establishing her insanity. The acting leaves a lot to be desired, with only 'Raging Bull' himself Jake LaMotta standing out for the cult fans in the support cast (and standing out for all the wrong reasons, I might add). Eileen Lord is good, however, in her role as the title character and overall, while this film didn't appeal to me much - exploitation fans should be happy and it gets a recommendation to anyone who likes their odd cult films.

CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHO CAT (1968) ** (D: Herb Stanley) Enjoyable-enough take on "The Most Dangerous Game" has an insane woman inviting three men to her NYC apartment and offering each $100,000 if they survive 24 hours in Manhattan with her hunting them down. Wild sex and orgy scenes are utilized to pad things out. Interesting to see shots of NYC, spotting familiar landmarks like the Dakota building.

Confessions of a Psycho Cat (1968)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Virginia Marcus (Eileen Lord) invites three men to her home. She informs them that they're being offered $100,000 each to have her hunt them. If they can survive twenty-four hours then they get the money.

This exploitation film is obviously a take off on THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME and for the most part it's an entertaining movie that fans of these low-budget thrillers should enjoy. The film certainly has some flaws scattered throughout its short 69-minute running time but there are also enough good things that make it worth watching.

One good thing is the performance by Lord who actually delivers a believable character. The scenes dealing with her breakdown are very realistic and I thought this aspect brought quite a bit to the story, which in reality is rather weak. Another good thing were the three victims. Each of them are given a story as to why they're being hunted but also why they need the money. Add in some nice cinematography and you've got an interesting little movie.

As I said, there are some flaws including the typical lack of story that haunts these types of movies. Even at just 69-minutes there are several scenes that just drag on for no other reason that to try and get the running time up. With that said, there's some sexploitation stuff thrown in including some bizarre sex scenes that spice things up a bit.

CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHO CAT isn't the greatest movie ever made but it's an interesting take on a familiar story.

In the 60s, I saw this film at the Fox Theater in Detroit. It may have been playing under the title " Loves of a Psycho Cat" or "Three Loves of a Psycho Cat" and was without the sexploitation scenes. I remember it possessing a certain charm. I've read the other comments posted. While it may not be great movie, "Psycho Cat" seems to have captured people's interest. If a print of this cut still exists, I believe, many might prefer this non-sexploitation version to the one released by Something Weird.

This very-low-budget independent thriller--a gritty NYC Freudian rewrite of The Most Dangerous Game--was a real surprise to me, as its director has no other credits on the IMDB. Psychotic Eileen Lord (whose performance belongs on the same shelf as Jack Nicholson's in THE SHINING or Tab Hunter's in THE AROUSERS)hunts down three men--a junkie, an over-the-hill stage actor, and a professional wrestler down on his luck--and cackles with glee while she's doing it. The crisp B&W New York locations are so real you can taste them, and the small, sparse sets (and some real houses/apartments too, it seems to me) are shot imaginatively. The camera work is unconventional and the editing is tight and gives the film a good pacing. Unfortunately, this film, which probably ran about 55 minutes in its original form, is ruined by about 15 minutes of poorly-shot nudie footage edited in at a later date, or at least shot by someone else who had no style to speak of. These inserts, I suppose, allowed the film to play on the "adult film" circuit, and probably gave it more of an audience than it could have gotten otherwise. However, it really belongs on the same shelf with films such as THE THRILL KILLERS, and its true audience is lovers of 60s sleazy,grim horror-crime films. Nudie fans have hundreds of films to enjoy, but CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHO CAT is a rare gem that once seen is not soon forgotten. Perhaps the release of this on a snazzy new DVD will cause the makers to come out of the woodwork and talk to some film researchers...maybe someday there will be a DVD with DIFFERENT VERSIONS of the film, including one without the inserts? A must-see for students of 1960s independent cinema.