Freely adapted from the Edgar Allan Poe story, The Black Cat hasnt acquired the reputation Fulcis various zombie films enjoy, but its still a good showcase of the filmmakers visual flair. Aided by a fine cast that includes Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange) and David Warbeck (The Beyond), Fulci delivers everything youd expect from him at this point in his career: atmosphere, gore, moody cinematography, and an illogical plot. The villain is the eponymous feline, who can hypnotise drivers (causing them to crash), start house fires and asphyxiate horny teenagers by trapping them in an airless room. His owner is the growly Magee (as eccentric as ever) who, courtesy of a psychic connection with the animal, is able to lead the police to the location of one murder but unable to keep his pet from reoffending. If he was human, theyd hang him, Magee says, and moments later he attempts to do just that. Even though this causes windows to shatter and beds to levitate (somehow), the cat comes back the very next day, so Magee tries poison and fire, all to no avail. There is no way I can stop him, he growls. He has cheated death itself!. Gonzo it may be, but unlike his later films, Fulci still had his heart in it and he mounts a B-grade thriller thats never less than entertaining.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
