Thumbs Down for Curse of the Crap People
Will you like this film? - Not if you watch it. And I say this as one who considers the original CAT PEOPLE a true gem of a picture. Very classy, subtle, and mysterious. All elements missing from this clunker.
This so-called "sequel" is the difference between a horror film and a horrible film, and it suffers from far too many problems.
1. It mixes myths. First, with the title, back story and cat in the tree, we have the Cat People myth. Then, for no good reason, the writer brings in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. And for all the confusion, neither one pays off.
2. It uses the same actors, playing the same characters as the little girl's mother and father, but then brings back the "original cat woman", the weird "sister" from the restaurant, who is NOT the same character at all. Worse yet, we don't find this out until this dreadful movie is nearly over - creating more confusion. Why cast her at all?
3. I don't know what to make of Simone Simon's performance. I've seen her called an angel, but mainly she's an outcast from a bad children's movie, Snow White gown and all. The music leads us to believe that she's somehow ominous - and yet somehow enchanting. Which is it? Neither.
5. The acting throughout, is uniformly terrible. But then so is the writing. And directing (not Tourneur). The old woman actress is more like Carol Burnett in NOISES OFF than a convincing mad woman.
6. And for bad lines, this one has a doozy that I can only paraphrase: Mom is upset that with Dad punishing their little girl, who's never been punished before, but before she can stop him, the Wise Teacher warns her not to interfere, a child's first spanking is too important an event.
Apologists for this movie might think of it as the predecessor to PAN'S LABYRINTH, and there might be a legitimate argument for that. The difference though, is that PAN'S LABYRINTH comes from real talent, a coherent storyline, and excellent production. CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (bad title) barely gets a one out of three.