10 Horror Movie Characters Who Were Perfectly Cast (The Second Time)

The Original

Jacques Tourneur's original 1942 horror film Cat People is undeniably constrained by the era within which it was made.

For though Simone Simon gives an appropriately smouldering performance as Irena Dubrovna - a young woman who believes she will turn into a black panther when sexually aroused - the audience is left to infer many of the wider details themselves.

Second Time's The Charm

Paul Schrader's wild 1982 remake has no aspirations to subtlety whatsoever, and free from the content restrictions of its predecessor, is a considerably more explicit depiction of sexual repression.

Beyond the film's spectacular presentation, though, the real ace up Schrader's sleeve is Nastassja Kinski, who plays the new Irena, and brings a raw sexuality to the fore that's simply lacking in Simon's performance from the '42 version.

Simon was of course working within the framework of the era, but with the shackles removed, Kinski gives a far more full-bodied, undeniably sexy performance as a woman terrified of what her own carnality might do to those around her.