The Curse of the Cat People

Robert Wise directed this sequel to "Cat People", set several years later. Oliver Reed(played by Kent Smith) and Alice(played by Jane Randolph) are now married with a six-year old daughter named Amy(played by Ann Carter). Amy is a lonely child who has a hard time making friends, and seems to prefer living in her fantasy world, visited by the ghost of Irina(played by Simone Simon) Irina looks after Amy, but Oliver wants nothing to do with this, insisting that Amy must be socialized. Amy does befriend an elderly woman in her "haunted" house, though her daughter(played by Elizabeth Russell, though not as her cat lady character from the first) is resentful. Amy will later run away from home, becoming lost, though she is far from being alone... Unique and thoughtful sequel builds on the story from Part I, rather than repeating it, and result is most satisfying. (No third film was made however!)

...this one is thoroughly commendable.Jacques Tourneur's "cat people " was more psychological Freudian fantasy and horror whereas Robert Wise 's sequel mostly deals with Gothic horror.This Gothic horror he would take to its absolute peak with "the haunting" ,twenty years after.

For a relatively short movie (about 70 min),there are SIX almost equally important female characters:the girlie,her mother,her teacher,her "friend" ,the old (laughing)lady and her daughter.This is the continuing story of Oliver Reed (not the actor)and the Alice whom he married after first wife Irena's death.The three characters -you read well even Irena) appear in the sequel.There's a lot of Gothic elements :the old house where an old lady tells terrifying tales about "sleepy hollow" (precisely Tim Burton's "spleepy hollow"),the strange borders of dream and reality,of the living and the dead,a subject which will be used a lot of times ;even if we can see the '"friend" ,she recalls sometimes Victor's part in Amenabar's masterful "the others".

But like in Tourneur's version,there may be also a Freudian side :the father/daughter does not seem to be very satisfying at the beginning of the film.Would the child be Irena's psychic daughter?

This film is so much more than it appears to be at first viewing. It is essentially an adult's view of a lonely child's fantasies and how those fantasies affect her relationships with the adults around her. The performances are uniformly excellent with Ann Carter as Amy, the lonely girl, a standout. Her angelic look is perfect for her character. Also excellent are Julia Dean as Mrs. Farren, the ex-stage actress living in her own fantasy world, and Elizabeth Russell as her daughter, Barbara. And to justify the title reference to "Cat People", Simone Simon appears as Amy's imaginary friend. This is a small film that deserves a much larger audience. Excellent in all respects.

Curse of the Cat People is an intriguing tale, beautifully filmed in a style that bears more resemblance to a Grimms fairytale than horror, with a mesmerizing performance from Ann Carter. This is her film and she is strong and convincing in the role. The exploration of the insecurity of the child coupled with a troubled relationship with her father is fascinating. I have not seen Cat People and, possibly, aspects of the history of the demise of Irena would be clearer having seen the original. The expectation of a "horror" film with the suggestive title is also misleading. If you are looking for horror you will need to look elswhere. This is ultimately a surprisingly sensitive and uniquely haunting film that would appeal on many levels.

Never mind the lurid title; this is a charming fantasy involving a little girl and a lonely retired actress. Julia Dean actually hadn't done a film for a quarter of a century, and is terrific in her comeback role of the secluded actress who is delighted to befriend the child. Recommended to all.