This is an eqally strange variation of the 1942 strange movie of the same name, with many actors you’ll recognize when they were much younger. Overall this is a good movie. You might want to go to IMDB or some other source of movie information to read a synopsis either before or after viewing the movie. The movie explains the one thing you’ll need to know about 3/4 of the way through the movie, but you’ll have to pay close attention. Up until then, you’ll need to be a really good movie fan to understand everything that’s happening. But, in the end, that anticipation of finding out how and where the story is going, is why we watch the movie in the first place. We won’t give away the story here.
If there’s one place that’s different in this country, it’s New Orleans. The movie is shot in New Orleans and the city adds to the suspense and mystery of the story. Watching it just to see New Orleans, especially the Zoo, as a background for the movie, is alone worth the time spent. Also of note is the surprising amount of nudity and sexual content in the R rated movie. All done as part of the story line, of course. While the movie is primarily a mystery, there is a fair amount of well done horror present that is bound to make you jump a little at the right moments. There is great use of sound, especially the growl of the leopards to convey the scare factor to the viewer. Another thing not shown in many movies, probably to make the insurance companies happy, is some really close interaction between the actors and an assortment of animals found in the zoo.
By way of an explanation of what you will see, but without giving away too much of the story, a brother and sister share a different relationship between themselves and also with a pair of leopards. The leopards appear to have escaped from an unknown source and have been preying on people in New Orleans for several years. When one leopard traps itself in a run down hotel room, the zoo keepers are called in to tranquilize the animal and house it in the zoo. The leopard thus brings together the brother and sister with the zoo keepers and the story unfolds from there. The brother and sister are separated orphans, with the sister just finding her brother in New Orleans after years of searching and meeting him for the first time just days before. From there the strange relationship between the brother and sister unfolds among the growing relationship between the sister and one of the zoo keepers.
The young actors you’ll recognize are John Heard, Malcom McDowell, Nastassja Kinski, Annette O’Toole, John Larroquette and Ed Begley Jr. Maybe a couple of others, if you’re really a movie fan. While we’re talking about actors, let’s not forget the leopards. There are some really great moments for the leopards, especially the close up shots of the face and eyes.
The movie gets a numb butt rating of 1.5. At around two hours, and a little slowness towards the end, we had to add the extra .5 butt to the rating. Otherwise, we would’ve rated it a 1 butt. It’s very much worth a rental, especially for those who like horror, suspense and movies that are a little bit out of the ordinary.
Tags: cat people, horror, movie, new orleans, review, suspense
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