Search - The Black Cat on DVD

Robert B. (rbrown) from STARKVILLE, MS
Reviewed on 1/31/2009...

A string of odd accidents plague an English village, and it appears that the accidents are all being caused by a black cat. Lucio Fulci thriller hearkens back more to his earlier work (such as THE PSYCHIC) than to the films he made on either side of this one (ZOMBIE [aka ZOMBI 2] and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD [aka THE GATES OF HELL] before; THE BEYOND [aka 7 DOORS OF DEATH] and HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY after). For fans of Fulci's gore films, this one may be slow going; however, those unfamiliar with Fulci's gore opera and/or those with open minds may find a lot to enjoy. Patrick Magee seems at times to be channeling Boris Karloff, and his eyebrows are one of the scariest things in the film. Slow moving, but it creates a creepy atmosphere along the way. Nice cinematography by Sergio Salveti; hit-and-miss score by Pino Donnagio, who's done much better work for films such as CARRIE, DRESSED TO KILL, THE HOWLING, and BODY DOUBLE.

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Fulci's underappreciated gem.

Nicholas Ehst | Phoenix, Arizona | 06/29/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Along with Manhattan Baby, The Black Cat stands as one of Fulci's most maligned movies of this period of his career. Personally, I feel that in many ways this is a much better film than Manhattan Baby, but also not quite as enjoyable. Manhattan Baby reached for stars that its budget and writing never quite allowed it to achieve, failing in many of its attempts but still aspiring to be greater than the sum of it's parts.The Black Cat is a much more grounded film, allowing the audience's knowledge of Poe's tale, along with the beautifully photographed English landscape to pull the film along. One notices almost right off that this movie doesn't really feel much like a Fulci film at all. There is some gore, but most of it is limited to blood flow, shed without the huge spurting wounds, or chunks of human flesh that the maestro is so well known for. The story moves with a linear feel, not jumping around, or making huge leaps in logic that the average viewer couldn't possibly follow. And the action, while present never hits the nerve shattering breaking point that usually accompanies a Lucio Fulci film. This movie is more a tribute to the gothic Poe adaptations of Roger Corman from the 60's; as if directed by an eye obsessed Pete Walker. Fulci pulls in the bizarre landscapes, the paranoid actions of the locals. And a lighter, more humorous tone than usually permeates his films, and he does it all beautifully. The most fun part of this film is by far the title feline himself (or herself, one never really knows). The cat runs and attacks playfully through the movie, dubbed with near lion level roaring, and thrown into the faces of his victims by some off camera hands. Plenty of unintentionally funny scenes occur as a result of this unthreatening cat clawing peoples hands and faces into bloody shreds. But despite these shortcomings, the animal does have a certain personality all its own. Fulci's countless eyeball close ups really make the audience feel as if we are bonding with the cat, which makes the scenes of it's intended demise that much more powerful.If you are a fan of Fucli, Eurohorror, or Poe, you should be able to find something in this movie that will appeal to you. Don't come in expecting nothing but wall to wall gore, this film is much different than that. But then again, those people who get mad when Fulci's movies aren't wall to wall gore never really understood his work anyway."

Clarification about Il Gatto Nero

Nicholas Ehst | 07/17/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mishap alert and clarification of the confusion: The poster cover for Anchor Bay's DVD of Lucio Fulci's Il Gatto Nero is a WRONG ONE. I believe it belongs to Luigi Cozzi's film of the same title made in 1989, a completely different movie. (BTW this is why the director for this DVD is listed as Cozzi and not Fulci on this page. It is obviously a mistake traceable to Anchor Bay; there is something to be said for commissioning an original artwork, after all) However, the content of the Anchor Bay edition is unmistakably a Fulci film. Come on, the styles of Cozzi and Fulci are as different from one another as those of Woody Allen and Michael Bay are... it is IMPOSSIBLE to mix these two directors up!"

One of Lucio Fulci's best!

Jak | Youdon'twanttoknow,NY, USA | 07/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of my favorite Fulci films. I personelly think the only reason this film is marked down is for its lack of gore, which I find unjust. Shure the film doesn't have a lot of gore. But the plot, cinematography, and the super natural overtones were superbe! Any Fulci/Poe fan should check this one out. Also if anyone even remotely liked the Black Cat story in Roger Corman's Trilogy Of terror should see this film aswell(interesting bit of trivia: Fulci made this film as part of a tribute to Roger Corman's The Black Cat in Trilogy Of Terror). jak"