Movie girl: Can't help interjecting an opinion here: I watched the movie again
after first re-watching The Cat People. Yes, the first film was stylish and
mysterious. The cast was well-chosen and everyone was quite interesting.
When we see Curse of the Cat People, it is quite different. My grown daughter of
24 had watched it with me a couple of years ago and was heard to recently remark that the film is good but doesn't make sense. She saw me watching it last night and asked me questions it was hard to answer.
Yes, Amy can't be Irena's daughter, as Irena had perished in the encounter with the car. When Irena is running away (after killing the psychiatrist, Dr. Judd) it appears that she turned into the panther (she had liberated from the zoo ). Irena was found dead as a woman after the car accident. One may well wonder where the panther went after killing Dr. Judd???
The first movie was very interesting in a way, but the second one is intriguing as well.. AS is often in real life, different milestones are often interjected with various unusual incidents. Even if we weren't considering the story through the eyes of a child, we find that there are various things occurring almost concurrently that are hard to explain.
I enjoyed seeing, for example, some of the people from the first film. In addition to Kent Smith and Jane Randolph, we also have the "ghost" of Irena who can only be seen in Amy's imagination. So we wonder if AMy really knows what she looked like from an old picture, or has she seen her ghost? Did AMy need her so badly that she dreamed her up as her "friend"? Her father is furious with her
daydreams, but Amy can only tell "the truth of what she sees".
Then too, we have a difficult decision to make about credibility of adults who cannot accept anything that is untoward; unusual crossing their path. Even those that are tolerant like Amy's teacher or her mother do not believe her story. This is quite understandable as a rule. It would seem that Amy is interested in fairy stories because she is lonely.
I was quite taken with Julia Dean as Mrs. Farren. She was quite intriguing as
a former star who is now a recluse. We have her befriending AMy and then we
see Elizabeth Russell again who was the mysterious woman in the original film.
In this film she does claim to be Mrs. Farren's daughter, Barbara. THe character of MRs. Farren does not appear to be insane, but had possibly suppressed a shocking incident from her past. Could it be that she cannot accept the grown-up Barbara as her daughter, as she had had a shock years ago when her daughter nearly died in an accident or from a severe illness? Even now she cannot accept her live daughter? When Barbara says she is her daughter, she says she is only the woman who takes care of her.
So where are the Cat People of note that are referred to in the film? Yes, we see
Irena as Amy had, but no others can. Barbara is supposed to be a caretaker at the Farren home. (Are we to believe that Amy is possessed because her father was once married to Irena of the Cat People?
So this is all going on during the holiday season with the mummers in costume going door to door... WE have Sir Lancelot who keeps house and watches Amy when he can. He is an interesting and sympathetic character who is genuinely worried when he discovers Amy had gone alone to the Farren home. He did well to worry, as Amy may have been in danger - from Barbara.
Amy nearly freezes to death, but is saved when Mrs. Farren opens her door to her
incessant knocking. She tries to protect the girl from Barbara by bringing her upstairs, but the jealous woman is enraged. When her mother suddenly dies of a heart attack in her attempt to shield Amy, she savagely reaches out to choke her.
When Amy is restored to her family, her father pretends to believe her that she sees Irena and says he has seen her too.
The apparition is gone and we are to think that it is the ultimate end of the story - Irena was her friend and appeared when Amy needed her.
When I was Amy's age my mother (who was a long-time valuable elementary school-teacher would not take my word if I mentioned something unusual happened. Possibly this was because I was the youngest. I have a sister who is three years older. I could not tell her when a strange thing happened to me, as she would have scoffed at me for making it up too. Dad remained neutral.
About a year before It was around Christmas time. I was the first one to go to bed and was sleeping. Suddenly around midnight I awoke and saw something very unusual. At the time I thought I was seeing a miracle and was transfixed to my bed. I could not move. I would have tried to run and tell my parents, but could not. Glancing toward the window I saw what must have been a Nativity Scene reflected on the shade. Every detail was complete, everything was perfect. At the time I had never seen one before and did not know what they were. But I could identify Mary and Joseph kneeling and the Christ Child!). In the morning it was gone (of course) and I considered mentioning "my miracle" at breakfast. I
could not. I watched for a reappearance of my "vision" for a night or two and gave it up. Was it a reflection from another apartment house across the way? I will never know. After that we moved away and the secret prevailed.
MAny years later - in fact just recently my sister was visiting from out of state and I spoke of the incident. She said it might have been the same place where she had seen a "hand of God" on the window! She had not mentioned her experience either. This gives an idea of adult incredibility. Our mother was very wise and spoke to her school-chilren kindly. But we could not step out of the circle of
"reality" or would have found ourselves sadly treated. This held true for Amy.
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