The Black Cat (1981) User Reviews

I dig this one!

[coldwaterpdh · 7/10 · 8 January 2008]

I really don't care what anyone says; "The Black Cat" is pretty damn cool. As far as the gore goes, it's not excessive as most of Fulci's films are, but it doesn't need to be. That being said, this film is not for the faint of heart. If you watched it with your grandma or someone who has not been jaded by the blood and guts in Italian horror films, you'd see it from a different side. A dude gets impaled, a girl burns to death, rotting corpses are found in a hot boat shack, and a cat repeatedly rips the flesh off a guy's face, goring him up. I mean, it's not "New York Ripper" but it's not a slasher film. It's more like a giallo.

This film is most notable for the brilliant cinematography. The shots from the cat's point of view are awesome. And then there's the excellent acting (for a Fulci film). Mimsy Farmer is decent! And the other dude, Patrick Magee from "Clockwork Orange" isn't bad either. Better than other Fulci stuff for sure.

The fact that the acting is above par and the fact that there isn't a constant onslaught of gore has contributed to the low rating on here. The film is a good giallo-style horror movie and it oozes with old school ambiance and mood. The soundtrack is great and all in all, it's a great adaptation of the Poe story.

I recommend it to Italian horror fans who can stand to be entertained without seeing people get disemboweled.

7 out of 10, kids.

It may not be Fulci's best, but I like it

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 20 May 2005]

• Fulci's The Black Cat is "freely adapted" from Poe's story. I suppose that "freely adapted" means that the last 10 minutes might bear a vague resemblance. The Black Cat is the story of a man who uses his psychic abilities to force his cat to kill for him. But the tables soon turn when the man tries to kill the cat. The cat becomes master and uses the man.

• The more Fulci I see, the more impressed I become. I started out with a couple that many people list among their favorites (The House by the Cemetery and City of the Living Dead) and neither did anything for me. But now that I've seen The Beyond, The Black Cat, A Lizard in Woman's Skin, and Don't Torture a Duckling, my opinion has changed. I now see the genius of Fulci that I've heard others rave about over the years. The Black Cat may not be his best, but it's an enjoyable Gothic thriller with loads of atmosphere. While the gore quotient may be turned down, there's still a few scenes that are undeniably Fulci.

• Patrick Magee, in one of his final roles, gives a very solid performance as the mad psychic. He effectively displays a wide array of emotions and is generally believable in each. Magee really was in the same class with the likes of Karloff when it came to portraying menace. Mimsy Farmer co-stars as a photographer who is as dull as dishwater.

• The cinematography is another area that stands out. Sergio Salvati presents some very noteworthy camera work. Chief among the scenes that stand out are the ones shot from the cat's point of view. The way the camera moves through the grass just as a cat would are very nicely done.

• The weakest point of the movie, as is so often the case with Italian horror, is the plot. Much of it makes little sense. For example, why does Magee really want these people dead? There's no clear motivation from what I could tell. Also, there are several plot threads that look interesting, but are not explored in any detail. The example I'll cite here is the exploration of the ruins. They look interesting, but we learn nothing about them and only see them in one ten minute stretch of the movie.

One of Fulci's better efforts.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 14 November 2007]

Italy's 'godfather of gore', Lucio Fulci, serves up less splatter and more atmosphere than usual in this surprisingly enjoyable movie (loosely based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe) about a malevolent moggy murdering people in rural England.

Fulci's directorial decision-making is sometimes questionable (just how many close-ups of eyes do you need in one film?), but with a reliable cast that should be familiar to fans of Italian horror, some nice cinematography, several creative deaths (which, whilst not as quite as gory as in other Fulci efforts, are still quite horrific), and a wonderful score from Pino Donaggio, this often overlooked Gothic tale is actually pretty good.

Set in a small English town, The Black Cat sees the titular feline causing a series of deaths after tapping into the suppressed hatred of its psychic owner (Patrick Magee). When the crazy medium finally cottons on to what is happening, he tries to do away with the cat, drugging it and then stringing it up from a tree. But the whiskery menace is no ordinary puss, returning from the dead to exact revenge on its ungrateful owner.

Mimsy Farmer also stars as a pretty American photographer caught up in the supernatural mystery, along with David Warbeck as a police inspector from the city who is called in to help solve the mystery, and Al Cliver as a local rozzer.

A lot of Fulci fans might be put off from watching this effort by the fact that it doesn't contain graphic scenes of eye impalement, head drilling, or gut vomiting, preferring instead to concentrate on generating an eerie vibe. I suggest, even if your love of Fulci is purely down to his usually over-generous servings of gore, that you still give The Black Cat a chance.

The death scenes in this one might not be as violently OTT as in his better known films, but Fulci doesn't entirely wimp out on the nastiness: there are a couple of burnings, an impalement, and one unfortunate couple get nibbled on by rats. Plus, you get a story that mostly makes sense.

And in a Fulci film, you can't really ask for much more than that.

Brilliant Cinematography

[eibon09 · 2 May 2002]

An unusually restraint film for a Fulci picture made in the early 1980s. A picturesque vision of gothic horror that's done in the style of an Italian gothic or Hammer horror film from the 1960s. I think Fulci's attempt here was to make a film in the manner of Hammer horror or Corman's Poe pictures, which would involve little of the director's usual gory antics. There are some violent scenes, and the most brutal scene in terms of gore or death is the one involving Lillian Grayson. Il Gatto Nero/The Black Cat(1980) relies more on atmosphere, mood, and tension, than gory set pieces, which was a change of tune for Fulci after the bloody violence of Zombie(1979), The Smuggler(1980), and City of the Living Dead(1980).

Its not one of his best works, but it is a beautiful looking film, with some gracious camerawork, and impressive visuals. Based loosely on the Edgar Allen Poe short story, of which this film has no direct relationship to the plot of that horror story. The closet the film comes is during the sequence that comes near the very end of the picture. The climax is an encore of the climatic moment in Sette Note in Nero/Seven Notes in Black(1977). The POV of the cat prowling around during the opening credits scene is handled with visual spectre by Sergio Salvati.

The casting of Patrick Magee as Robert Miles is one of the best parts of The Black Cat(1980). Magee gives a performance that shows why he was a master in playing eccentric and mentally troubled characters in films like A Clockwork Orange(1971), and Marat/Sade(1970). One of five or six excellent actors to have a role in a Lucio Fulci film. He portrays in his character emotions of fear, hate, and menace just by his expressions of his face and eyes, which are more effectively presented when viewing the film in widescreen. Atmospheric and eerie use of its British locales that rivals that of Jorge Grau's Let Sleeping Corpses Lie(1974).

One scene, which reaches the dreamlike style of Fulci's other gothic pics from the early 80s is the moment when the house that Jill Travels lives in shakes, and rocks around in a frenzy after the hanging Miles cat. Its an eerie sequence that is one of the best in the film. Daniela Doria once again plays a character who comes to a gruesome end(seems to be her only function in a Fulci film). David Warbeck does ok as Inspector Gorley, but his performance here is nowhere near as good as in The Beyond(1981). The Mrs. Grayson death scene borders on the effective and ridiculous without moving totally into the realm of the latter.

Mimsy Farmer gives a bland performance here that is short of the good performances given by Catriona MacColl, who was better at making a Fulci's heroine a little more dimensional. The editing is smooth looking and fluid compared to the erratic editing of City of the Living Dead(1980), which was a weakness for that film. The death of Ferguson is crafted with hand shaking suspense and a creative payoff. Fulci's director is flamboyant and yet simple in the same time. Overall, an entertaining horror film that is one of Fulci's most underrated films, and one despite its flaws is worthwhile for anyone that loves Euro-horror, Fulci horror, or just horror films in general.

Interesting and atmospheric but....

[analoguebubblebath · 6/10 · 20 April 2001]

"The Black Cat" is an interesting and atmospheric 'stab' at being an English Gothic film. The first half is has more gore and succeeds in heightening the suspense only for a rather ineffective summation and climax. Patrick Magee plays the part of a median who controls the mind of a cat.

The deaths are suitably impressive and deserved by the characters concerned aside from the supremely sexy Mrs Grayson (Giallo/Sleaze/Horror favorite Dagmar Lassander) who never fails to 'light up' the screen.

Not Fulci's best; but reasonably enjoyable nonetheless.

6/10 (I refuse to grade films out of four stars)

The Cat made him do it

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 16 May 2006]

**SPOILERS** Creepy and atmospheric little horror flick, based on the writings of Edger Alan Poe, about a mysterious black cat who at first is being controlled by this whacked out professor as well as self-style medium Robert Miles to do his dirty work. Later, after Miles kills it the feline comes back from the dead to exact vengeance on him by having Miles brought to justice from what he did.

As the movie starts, with the credits are rolling down the screen, we see this black cat distract a man, Foreman, behind the wheel of his car as he loses control and crashes killing himself. Miles who's the cat's master is later seen in his home playing tapes of sounds that he recorded in the local cemetery trying to contact Neil, for all we know Neil is his dead son, and we hear a number of strange and eerie sounds on the tape that sound like their from a language other then English, they sound like Greek to me.

Young America photographer Jill Trevers, photographing the ancient Roman and British ruins, in and around town is at the cemetery and sees one of the crypts broken into and inside finds a recording device. That evening at the local bar in town Jill hears form a number of patrons about this nut and weirdo Prof. Miles who's known to try to communicate with the dead and hangs around at the cemetery trying to get in touch with them. Going to see Miles by using the excuse of giving him back his lost recording device Jill notices his "pet" back cat who's anything but cuddly to him but who violently attacks Miles in Jill's presence scratching him in his hand. Jill later starts to suspect that it was Miles black cat who was responsible for the death of one of the towns well known heavy drinkers, Furgerson while photographing his body for the police department after he's found dead, from a fall off a gangplank and on to a spiked fence. Jill noticed that Furgersn's hand was terribly scratched just like Miles was by his cat.

We earlier saw a young couple, Stan & Maureen, lock themselves into a storehouse by the docks. As their making out the lights go out and they finds themselves locked in with the key to the door strangely missing. At first you have no idea to just what the couple have to do with the movie but later it turns out that Maureen's mother Mrs. Grayson once had an affair with Miles and broke it off, was this was Miles' way of getting even with her! How did Miles do it? Did Miles have his black cat sneak into the storehouse grab to key, thus locking them in, and then turn off the air-conditioner; causing the two lovebirds to suffocate to death?

Miles eventually get's even with Mrs. Grayson, for turning down his advances, by having his cat cause her apartment house to be set on fire by knocking over a lit kerosene lamp into the fire place and then having her, totally engulfed in flames, jump to her death from the third floor window. Miles now confidently feeling that he achieved all his goals in getting even with those in town who rubbed him the wrong way gives the back cat a meal spiked with a strong sedative knocking it out. Taking the unconscious cat, stuffed in a sack, outside in the woods Miloes brutally hangs it. Miles should have known that the black cat had nine, not one, lives and that it would soon come back to get even with him for what he did to it with a wild and ferocious fury that even he,it's former master, couldn't even in his wildest dreams imagine or comprehend.

Hard to find but very effective killer cat movie with Patrick McGee in his last movie role playing the crazed Professor Robert Miles who together with Mimsy Farmer, as the American photographer Jill Trevers, have some of the most extreme and mind-boggling close ups ever put on film. The black cat itself is also very scary as it moves towards and stalks it's victims and you forget for a while that it's really a common house cat.You look at the killer feline as if it were an instrument of death and terror conjure up by the Devil himself straight out of hell.

The movie "Black Cat" has a very hypnotic feel to it, maybe because of it's many unusual and almost microscopic closeups, and the ending is anything but a letdown, like you would expect from a movie like it. Miles gets just what he had coming to him with the cat, as well as the local police, having him face ultimate justice for the crimes that he committed.

Do Not Let This Movie Cross Your Path

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 1/10 · 10 November 2018]

From the sublime to the substandard. Poe's Black Cat story has had so many movie incarnations over the years, the best probably being Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key from 1972. Should I have expected anything directed by hackmaster Lucio Fulci to come anywhere near to the quality of that movie? After suffering the abysmal dreck of his other movie from 1981, The Beyond, I guess I got what I deserved spending money and time on his attempt to tackle this classic story, no matter how liberal his writer was with the material.

Material? What material? There's nothing here. As with The Beyond this is just a bunch of completely disconnected scenes where people are killed by a Black Cat (not in-keeping with Poe's story) while multiple story threads are set-up and then immediately abandoned. Not a single part of this movie has any connection to any other part. It's all a jumble of nonsense with only the loosest link to the original story and other adaptations coming in at the very end.

I stand firm and I'm doubling down on my judgment that Fulci was not a film-maker. He was a man with a movie camera who caught random images and placed them in a random order. He had stone-cold ZERO understanding of plot, character, story, special effects, editing, pacing, or acting. Even Michael Bay and Uwe Boll score more points than him. There is some saving grace in Sergio Salvati's cinematography which makes great use of 2.35:1 and has some stunning compositions, but it's not like he's capturing a story, just a lot of wooden actors who have no idea what they are supposed to be discussing or performing.

The quaint English village that is the backdrop for this total garbage is nice to look at too, giving the whole sorry affair the vibe of Midsomer Feline Murders. No one appears to be English though and words never, ever, ever match mouths. In fact, I think the first dialogue was at least ten minutes into the film and often sparse after that. They don't really have much to talk about since nothing is really happening since screenwriter Biagio Proietti does not possess any talent and has simply no clue how write dialogue or make a p-l-o-t happen. Then, when they do speak, it's all incoherent gibberish. But if you want to see characters just walk around for long single takes then you'll be spoiled.

After about fifteen minutes you'll suss this film out and realize that there is no point in siding with any of the characters are they are all just meat for Fulci to kill one-by-one. Why none of them think to just stand on the cat's spine or throw it against the wall is never made clear.

There's nothing here. There's barely really anything to criticize if I'm honest. Just a sequence of random grot presented in an irrelevant order. Criticizing this "adaptation" of The Black Cat for it's pathetic story or bad direction is like blaming a giant landfill for not being Disney's Magic Kingdom. It was never meant to be anything other than a landfill.

Lucio Fulci was the worst director to have ever walked the face of the Earth and you'd be better off spending your time cleaning deep inside the bowl of a public toilet with a three-bristled toothbrush and some phlegm. It would be a more satisfying experience.

Pretty good horror film from the Godfather of Gore.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 7/10 · 7 March 2005]

Psychic medium Professor Robert Miles is paid a visit by a young photographer named Jill Travers whom wishes to return a piece of the professor's equipment she has found in an underground tomb.Miles wastes no time in attempting to hypnotize the woman,but is interrupted by the pestering cat as it inflicts deep scratches into the man's hand.Jill responds with a hurried exit,and soon after meets Inspector Gorley who employs her as a crime-scene photographer in the investigation of a rash of fatal accidents that have recently befallen the sleepy village.She discovers cat-like scratches on one of the hand of one of the victims,and soon learns that a black cat has been present during all of the incidents.Curiosity leads the photographer back to Miles' estate,where she learns the history of the old man's estranged relationship with the black cat."The Black Cat" by Lucio Fulci is an atmospheric horror film that works despite its relative absence of graphic gore.The cast is pretty familiar for fans of Eurohorror including David Warbeck,Patrick Magee,Mimsy Farmer,Dagmar Lassander,Al Cliver and Daniela Doria to boost.The English setting provides plenty of creepy atmosphere and the photography by Sergio Salvati is excellent.Give it a look,if you are a fan of Lucio Fulci.7 out of 10.

Disappointing horror effort.

[gridoon · 4/10 · 31 October 2000]

For a horror film, this is criminally dull. A few memorable, gruesome bits can't compensate for a really poor script. Very little coherence is achieved, and the movie relentlessly overplays its one basic idea (a killer cat), until it becomes repetitive - and things are made even worse by the constant use of shots from the cat's point-of-view. (*1/2)

silly, yet not all that bad

[Jonny_Numb · 6/10 · 10 January 2003]

The plot of "The Black Cat" is a real doozy that might have you biting your tongue: creepy old medium Patrick Macnee (who's really overdoing the quivering monotone thing here) supposedly has a psychic link with a black cat, who he orders to kill the residents of a small village. Fulci does well with the flamboyant material, and keeps piling on the gore, atmosphere, and dark sets with gusto. For the most part, the cast (including Euro-vets Mimsy Farmer, David Warbeck, and Al Cliver) doesn't take the material any more seriously than they have to, resulting in some unintentional (but welcome) comic relief. Granted, this isn't "House by the Cemetery"-caliber, but it's not bad, either. 3 out of 5 stars.

Classic from Mr. Fulci

[Gunnar_Runar_Ingibjargarson · 5/10 · 17 June 2008]

The Black Cat (Lucio Fulci, 1981) Always remember, the title credits say the film is freely adapted from Poe's story. Freely may be the understatement of the year. Best not to think on Poe's tale until the final ten minutes.

The killer kitty is at the center of the story, causing a series of accidents in a small Scottish town whose inspector, Wilson (Fulci regular Al Cliver), gets expatriated and calls Scotland Yard. They send in Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck, who also teamed with Fulci for The Beyond the same year). Gorley and Wilson, with the help of plucky American photographer Jill Trevers (sixties biker bad girl Mimsy Farmer), try to solve the crimes while working out what an aging, eccentric mystic (Patrick Magee) has to do with it all.

And now, the part that will make Fulci fans wonder who really directed this movie: there's no eye scene, and there's no spider scene. In fact, it's almost as if Fulci wanted to tone down the gore and make an atmospheric, Gothic horror/romance, but without the romance (except for one sex scene that would barely rate a PG-13 today).

Fulci himself considers this movie a disaster. Who am I to disagree? Well, I will, at least in part. It's certainly watchable enough, if confused. It's not Zombi or The Beyond, but it's got its endearing points. Worth a free rental.

Murderous Moggy Madness!

[The_Void · 8/10 · 5 July 2004]

This is, without a doubt, my all time favorite movie about a homicidal cat. The cat is the main masterpiece of this movie; it is personified beautifully, Lucio Fulci gives the cat it's own character which makes the whole piece very eerie indeed. The idea of having a cat, especially one that looks as evil as the one in this movie, doing the killing is different, fun and strangely, it works! The murders that the cat commits are inventive and imaginative and overall, this is a very decent movie, which deserves a lot more praise than it's getting.

Lucio Fulci has directed a few movies that have won high praise among horror fanatics; The Beyond and Zombie Flesh Eaters, most notably, but this movie easily deserves equal praise. Unlike the majority of Fulci's repertoire, The Black Cat is low gore and relies more on the Gothic and eerie atmosphere to deliver it's scares - and it works a treat. The film, based on a story by the master of Gothic horror, Edgar Allen Poe, is set in a quiet town in England and follows the story of Professor Robert Miles (Patrick Magee) that is able to control the mind of his cat in order to take out his vengeance on various people. One of the best things about this movie is the way that the relationship between man and cat is presented. We can almost feel the antagonism between the two characters, shown by the cat attacking Magee, and him saying that the cat will eventually kill him.

This movie features some sequences that are at the very top of horror cinema, most notably the very creepy and atmospheric sequence in which Magee attempts to strangle the malevolent animal. Lucio Fulci is able to direct this scene so it both believable and frightening. His direction throughout this movie is competent and throughout the movie, it is surprising that this is a movie by the same man that brought us the disgusting zombie gore-fests due to it's level of constraint.

Overall, The Black Cat is an excellent slice of horror cinema that is unfairly criticized and criminally overlooked. Fulci fans may not like it because of the lack of gore, but if you like creepy, atmospheric horror films, you will love The Black Cat.

Cats, Rats And Bats...Oh My!!!

[ferbs54 · 7/10 · 20 January 2008]

Featuring as it does as homicidal and nasty-tempered a feline as has ever been shown on screen, Lucio Fulci's "The Black Cat" (1981) is certainly not a film guaranteed to appeal to the average ailurophile. Although the picture jettisons most of Poe's 1843 short story, from which little but the title remains, it still tells an interesting tale indeed. In it, we meet Robert Miles (intensely played by veteran actor Patrick Magee in one of his last roles), a crusty eccentric living in a small English village whose two main hobbies seem to be recording the voices of the dead in a local cemetery and avoiding being mauled by his pet, the titular black tabby. American photographer Jill Trevers (the attractive Mimsy Farmer) investigates after a wave of homicides sweeps through the small town. Along for the ride in a small part is Dagmar Lassander, here sporting a good deal more avoirdupois than in, say, 1970's "Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion" but still giving a blazing performance nonetheless. Fulci's direction here is typically stylish, replete with stalking cat's eye POV and more close-ups of eyes in general than you've ever seen (probably in excess of 100 such close-ups, I'd guesstimate), and Pino Donaggio's intriguing title tune does set the baroque mood nicely. Many events in the film go unexplained (that levitating bed, for instance, and that hanging-cat etching), and a repeat viewing did not help me understand things any better than the first. Though hardly a giallo per se, the picture does feature any number of grisly murders, even if there is never a mystery for the viewer as to who the (four-legged) culprit is. A rampaging bat sequence late in the film seems almost a direct lift, strangely, from an earlier Fulci film, 1971's "Lizard in a Woman's Skin." Still, any movie with cats, rats AND bats can't be all bad, right? And oh...another great-looking DVD here, from the always dependable Anchor Bay.

Far from Fulci's best work but worth seeing for some stunning cinematography

[tomgillespie2002 · 4/10 · 30 May 2012]

Following the gruesome gore-fests of Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) and City of the Living Dead (1980), director Lucio Fulci toned down the violence and adapted the short story of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe. The film, that bares little resemblance to Poe's original story, has Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck) travel to a rural English village to investigate a string of strange deaths and occurrences. Also arriving is photography student Jill (Mimsy Farmer), who finds a strange recording device in a graveyard that traces back to the eccentric Professor Robert Miles (Patrick Magee, the vengeful assault victim from A Clockwork Orange (1971)). Miles is trying to contact the dead, but it is his strange black cat that seems to be committing the murders, and seems to be as murderous towards its owner than it is to its selected victims.

This is a huge change of tone from what I've experienced previously from the Italian 'Godfather of Gore' (surely that title belongs to H.G. Lewis?), and shares more in common with Hammer's horror output and the various Roger Corman adaptations of Poe's work. Yet although the tone makes for a refreshing change, this is still a plodding and silly film, and is far from the director's best work. I've already voiced my puzzlement at how a cat can kill a human in my review of The Corpse Grinders (1971), and the same happens here. A man gets attacked in the street repeatedly by a lunging cat, and I couldn't help but shout abuse at the screen as he flailed about pathetically.

The film is beautifully shot though, and if one thing can be said about Fulci, is that he knows how to shoot a smoky graveyard. His best works The Beyond (1981) and City of the Living Dead involved scenes of beautiful sepia and eerie widescreen shots of various spooky locations, and The Black Cat is no different. The early scene involving Miles attempting to communicate to the dead in a graveyard has a panning shot so beautiful that it almost cemented an extra star onto my rating. But the sheer silliness and tedium of the rest of the film brought me back to reality.

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"Cats Take Orders From No One!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 3 November 2019]

Director Lucio Fulci's THE BLACK CAT kicks off with a vehicular death, involving the felonious feline of the title. Enter photographer, Jill Trevers (Mimsy Farmer) who makes an odd discovery while taking pictures of some local ruins. As more "accidental" deaths occur, the police are baffled, and call in Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck) of Scotland Yard, who soon enlists Jill's talents.

What, if anything does all of this have to do with the town medium, Professor Miles (Patrick Magee) and his alleged communications with the dead? What is his relationship with the killer kitty?

Another example of Fulci's mastery of bizarre, supernatural horror, this film offers his typical gore-drenched sequences and terrifying set pieces. It's a great mystery / thriller as well. The Director's penchant for eye closeups is used well, adding intensity, and making the cat come across as all the more malevolent and dangerous.

A fantastic movie made during Fulci's "horror cycle" prime. This is true, even with the glaring bloopers, such as the visible hands of the wrangler holding the cat during an intense scene, and the glaring wires holding the rubber bats!

Co-stars Al Cliver as Sgt. Wilson.

P.S.- Poe fans will love the finale...

Faster, Pussycat... Kill, Kill!

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 7/10 · 30 March 2009]

***SPOILERS!*** The work of Edgar Allan Poe has been brought to screen on many occasions, most brilliantly by Roger Corman with seven films starring the great Vincent Price in the early sixties. Poe's story "The Black Cat", in particular, has been filmed on various occasions, most memorably probably by Sergio Martino, with his 1972 Giallo-masterpiece "Your Vice Is A Locked Room and only I Have The Key". While it has hardly anything to do with Edgar Allan Poe's story, "Gatto Nero" aka. "Black Cat" (1980) is a creepy and unusual film by Lucio Fulci, which is especially interesting for its uncanny Gothic atmosphere.

A small English village has been struck by a series of bizarre murders. After the investigating Scotland Yard Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck) asks Jill (Mimsy Farmer), an American photographer, for her help it soon becomes clear that the black cat of the local psychic Professor Miles (Patrick Magee) was involved in all the crimes. Miles, who has psychic powers, is suspected of being responsible for the murders, but it seems as if his cat is also committed to killing her owner... In this rare case, a vengeful or evil character of a cat is not merely suggested, but the cat is actually a murderous key character of the film. The storyline may not always be 100% logical, but it is definitely intriguing, and the film maintains a creepy atmosphere from the beginning. The English village is a great setting, and the murderous black cat is actually a villain far more vicious and interesting than one might imagine. Partick Magee ("A Clockwork Orange", "Masque Of The Red Death",...) is great as always in his creepy role. Beautiful Mimsy Farmer, a regular female lead in Italian Horror films ("Four Flies On Grey Velvet", "Autopsy", "The Perfume Of The Lady In Black",...), fits in her role well, and is nice to look at as always (even though she keeps her clothes on this time). The cast also includes David Warbeck and Al Cliver, both of whom are regulars of Italian Horror/Exploitation productions. This is not nearly one of Fulci's goriest films, but there are still a bunch of well-done and pretty nasty gore scenes. The best aspects of the film are doubtlessly its stylish Gothic looks, genuinely creepy atmosphere and brilliant score as well as the incredibly sinister Patrick Magee and the premise of a murderous cat. Overall, "The Black Cat" is not one of the absolute must-sees by Fulci, but it is definitely an original, creepy and highly atmospheric flick that should not be missed by lovers of Italian Horror. Highly recommended!

"The dead like to be left alone, they're not very hospitable." Atmospheric horror, I liked it.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 13 August 2005]

Il Gatto Nero, or The Black Cat as it's more commonly known amongst English speaking audiences, starts in the tranquil English countryside in a small sleepy village with a mysterious car crash in which the driver sees a black cat just before he loses control of his car & crashes sending him through the windscreen & up in flames. An American photographer named Jill Trevers (Mimsy Farmer) has travelled to the village to take photo's of the local picturesque ruins but shortly after she arrives strange things begin to happen in the village. The locals are wary of a medium named Professor Robert Miles (Patrick Magee) who claims he can speak to the dead & owns an ominous black cat. Two teenage lovers Maureen (Daniela Doria) & her boyfriend Stan disappear without trace, since local bobby Sergeant Wilson (Al Cliver) isn't up to the job Scotland Yard send Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck) to sort things out. Next the local drunk Ferguson (Bruno Corazzari) speaks out about Professor Miles in the pub & shortly after suffers a fatal 'accident'. Inspector Gorley realises he has a real case on his hands & enlists the help of photographer Jill to record the crime scenes & help out, to add to the growing list of 'accidents' it's not long before the bodies of Maureen & Stan are found. When Maureens mum Lillian (Dagmar Lassander) dies Jill & Gorley are convinced that these are not random accidents & discover strong evidence to indicate that Professor Miles black cat was present during each incident...

Co-written & directed by Lucio Fulci I liked Il Gatto Nero even if it doesn't make a lot of narrative sense. The script by Fulci & Biagio Proietti based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe is a bit of a mess to be honest, none of the victims are really connected to each other or the killer & as a whole Il Gatto Nero feels a little unfocused & loose jumping from one murder set-piece to another without much regard for what happens between them, the script could have been a bit tighter. The characters are undeveloped & are nothing more than cardboard cutouts but I personally didn't mind that much as there is just about enough there to keep things moving even if it's not particularly coherent. The end & the eventual revealing of all the motivations behind what's going on & the unmasking of the villain is too spread out, it would have been more effective if it all came out during the last 10 or 15 minutes rather stretch it out over 20 odd minutes & I must admit that the end wasn't exactly a great surprise. Il Gatto Nero has to be one of Fulci's best looking films & I love it's atmosphere, location, cinematography & style. The quaint idyllic English village is great, whether it's during the day with it's fresh greenery & cottages or at night with it's darkly lit streets enshrouded in thick fog. From Professor Miles Gothic mansion with terrific dungeon type crypt underneath & richly decorated rooms to the old house the drunk Ferguson wanders into with it's exposed brickwork & peeling plaster. From cobweb strewn corridors & tombs to spooky graveyards Il Gatto Nero is a wonderful looking film throughout. In fact my score & liking for Il Gatto Nero is probably based more on the look & feel of it rather than it's somewhat weak & thin storyline, sometimes it felt like a teen slasher film with a cat as the killer murdering random people. Technically the film is solid, director Fulci uses light & dark extremely well as he composes his shots, he films certain scenes from various cool angles & he constantly uses close-ups on peoples & cats eyes for some reason & I'm glad he did, he throws in plenty of cat point-of-view shots too. Il Gatto Nero is a visually impressive film, much more so than I was expecting & I think cinematographer Sergio Salvati deserves a mention. The gore & violence is toned down compared to Fulci's Zombi films but there are still some good kills here, a car crash victim is shown, someone is impaled on spikes in the films best gore scene, shots of a burning woman & her body & a few cat scratches & mauling plus an old skeleton. The acting is as good as one can expect from a Euro horror & familiar faces Magee, Warbeck & Cliver are fun to spot & watch. I liked Il Gatto Nero a lot & I would probably watch this again over most of Fulci's gore films for which he is most remembered for. It's a splendid looking film but it would have helped if Fulci had fleshed the script out a bit more, maybe he could have connected the victims together better & perhaps come up with a slightly stronger ending. Still, Il Gatto Nero is definitely worth a watch & much better than I was expecting!

That's one impressive cat

[ODDBear · 5/10 · 7 January 2008]

Somewhat atmospheric but ultimately a rather pedestrian affair from Fulci. The story is pretty lame and the pacing is off in this "re-imagining" of the Poe classic, which by itself isn't a bad thing 'cause the story has been filmed countless times.

Made at the time when Fulci was at full force, making such classics as The Beyond, City of the Living Dead and House By The Cemetery and this one, all in two years time, it is reported that Fulci's heart wasn't all together in this project. Out grabbing a smoke this time around are frequent script collaborator Dardano Sacchetti and composer Fabio Frizzi and, honestly, they're sorely missed. Although Pino Donaggio contributes a solid score, the writing here is below par and Sacchetti, who more or less was responsible for Fulci's nightmarish visions in The Beyond and City of the Living Dead (two very effective horror films), would probably have injected more life into the proceedings and delivered some better dialogue.

Dialogue wise, this is pretty stupid. Fulci has some fine talents here; Patrick Magee is menacing as the local medium who has a strange relationship with the black cat, Mimsy Farmer is always welcome in an Italian production and David Warbeck is always likable. But poor dubbing and shitty lines do count for much here, the actors own voices aren't even in sync. Another thing that bothered me here; the cinematography. Sometimes it's scope photography is very effective when it's focusing on the town village which is covered with fog and at times it builds up quite an atmosphere. But the insane (and very frequent) close-ups on the actors eyes is way too much. It happens nearly in every scene to some extent.

The pacing here is off and it drags quite a bit, despite only just reaching 90 minutes. In the beginning the story looks promising when Magee is attempting to communicate with the dead (you immediately think of The Beyond and City) but it veers off in another direction altogether once the psychic link between him and the cat starts taking control. That part of the story never really gels (and it's here that the story is similar to Poe's original but it has a twist) and although some of the death sequences are handled well it doesn't make up for the remainder of the film which is a bit too slow and impassionately executed. The ending is also pilfered wholesale from Fulci's earlier The Psychic (aka Seven Notes in Black) and that leaves a nasty aftertaste.

I must say, however, that the scenes with the cat are amazing. That's one impressive cat and a damn fine actor to boot. Quite the acrobat and problem solver and I'd be scared of him too.

Fulci Has Done Much Better Film But.....

[EdIsInHell · 6/10 · 6 March 2019]

The Black Cat is not one of Lucio Fulci's better films but it is still worth a watch for any true fan of horror/thriller or any hardcore Lucio Fulci fan.

Knock back a sixer, blow a bone and chill.

The Cat kills curiosity...and everybody else

[Coventry · 8/10 · 7 December 2005]

In between all his gory highlights of that period ("The Zombie Flesh Eaters", "The Beyond", "City of the Living Dead"...), the masterful Lucio Fulci – this man is a God in my book – took the time to direct this stylish, Poe-inspired thriller, supposedly as a routine mandate he didn't really care for. Devoted or not, Fulci delivers another fascinating gem of Italian horror cinema, mean and bloody but mostly emphasizing on suspense and morbid atmosphere. The titular black cat is presented as a full cast member (I'm surprised she's not credited on the DVD-cover!), terrorizing the inhabitants of a small English town. The animal's owner, a tormented spiritual medium, is suspected of committing the strange murders in town but it looks like the cat is primarily HIS nemesis and he can't get rid of the devilish no matter what he tries. "The Black Cat" is a compelling film despite the silly premise and many plot holes and it's the only Fulci film in which you pray for a little less gore so that you can focus on the substance more! The gore still can't be ignored, though, as we're treated to impalement, skin-melting fires, a nasty car accident and multiple virulent cat-attacks! The sequence in which the feline stalks (and kills) a drunk villager who saw too much is almost like a lesson in genuine tension. Bravo Lucio! Patrick Magee ("A Clockwork Orange" and multiple B-horror classics) looks familiar with his role of crazy cat owner and Mimsy Farmer ("Autopsy") is very good as the American photographer unraveling the supernatural mystery. To finish up, there are some neat and unexpected plot twists, a moody score and some very imaginative camera-work. Although visually less overpowering than Fulci's other contemporary achievements, "the Black Cat" surely ranks amongst his best work. The ending remains fantastic, no matter how many times I've seen it already in other Gothic horror movies. Recommended bigtime!

"Not A cat....YOUR cat"

[Bezenby · 7/10 · 15 June 2009]

This is one of those rare Italian movies where it doesn't pay to have beers during it's playing time, because if you do, you'll be in a coma by the halfway mark.

That's not really a criticism though, because the Black Cat is a nice change of pace from the splatter of early eighties Italian horror. Rather than spend the running time making people vomit up their own guts, Lucio Fulci has sought to bring back the Gothic tone of those late sixties supernatural movies (The Ghost, Blancheville Monster etc).

Patrick Magee (love those eyebrows), is a cantankerous medium taken to wandering graveyards at night, recording the voices of the newly dead. There's plenty of newly dead in this sleepy English town too, which has got something to do with Magee's Black Cat. The two of them spend an awful lot of time staring at each other.

Meanwhile, Mimsy Farmer, a visiting American (I think) photographer, gets interested in Magee and spends her time annoying him at his house, just as cop David Warbreck arrives in town, to help local bobby Al Cliver search for some missing teenagers.

I'm surprised that Fulci managed to create something so coherent during the run of films that included House By The Cemetery and Manhattan Baby. Although not gore-filled, the first half of the film does consist of the cast being stalked and wasted in a variety of ways, and the only time the film falters is when it starts actually following the story of Poe's Black Cat. Plus, you've got great B-movie fodder in the form of Al Cliver (err...great dubbing there), Daniella Doria and the aged, but still lush, Dagmar Lassander.

It wouldn't be a Fulci film without some daftness though, eh? Well, apart from people acting terrified of a cat (although a teleporting, hyper-aggressive cat might be a bit scary), you've got Lassander trying to put out an inferno with a cushion, an absolutely awful bat attack, and I'm still not sure whether to be impressed or start laughing every time Magee appears on screen.

Good enough for any Fulci collection, just don't expect gore. Great soundtrack too!

Surprisingly good.. my favorite Fulci so far

[retro-45 · 2 May 2001]

This was a good version of the Poe story. Not quite as bloody as Fulci's other flicks, and it didn't really need to be. It tells its tale of a man who records the dead conversing (!) while his cat commits murders convincingly, and the way they present the cat as the master over the man is very fetching. The only problem with this movie-- (shudder) the EYEBALL CAM!! Wayyyy too many close-ups of a man's eyes (pause for 3-5 seconds), then to the cat's eyes (pause another 3-5 seconds) and repeat ad nauseum.

Arrrgh!!! But if you can put up with that here and there, you'll be pleased with Fulci's best offering (in my opinion).

Good Lucio Fulci horror...

[MovieGuy01 · 6/10 · 1 October 2009]

I Thought that The Black Cat was a good Italian horror directed by Lucio Fulci. The film is about Strange things that are happening in a small English village. It all starts when a man driving a car suddenly notices a strange black cat in the back seat of his car. The cat suddenly stares at the man and causes the man to crash his car into a lamp post, killing him.The black cat then walks off back to its home, which is an old house which is owened by Robert Miles (Patrick Magee), Robert is a former college professor of the supernatural and he is also a medium and he lives alone except for his black cat. He spends his time making audio tape recordings at the tombs of people who have recently died. He uses the cat on his enemies. suddenly a photographer who works for the local constables begins to notice cat scratches on some of the accident victims. I Thought that this was a good horror Lucio Fulci who has made a lot of good horror films. RECCOMMENED.

The Black Cat

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 26 April 2007]

One thing I often have a problem with when watching Fulci is not his gifted, truly blessed stylish touch, particularly how well he can film faces and use the dark so ominously and effectively..it's his unfocused, often incredibly pee-brained plots. This plot has this bizarre idea that a man named Robert Miles, fueling with a repressed hatred for others such as a past lady-love, can force a cat, through hypnotic suggestion to attack others(while, as we see in the opening kill, the cat itself possesses a driver to send his car straight into a parked vehicle..which means that Miles possesses the cat which possesses another man. Alrighty then.). Then, the story shifts where the cat can make Miles do it's bidding after the ex-professor attempts to kill it. Now, I didn't understand how this mumbo jumbo works so maybe you can tell me. Anyway, various victims fall prey to the cat such as a local drunk who falls on a pitchfork, a woman(Miles lady-love) who gets burned alive in her house, a young couple who are seen on the floor with foam coming out of their mouth(?!), and Inspector Gorley(David Warbeck)of Scotland Yard who is forced by the cat to walk in front of a moving car(!). Jill(Mimsy Farmer), a top-notch photographer, is in the village to lense old ruins. She comes in contact with both Miles and the cat when she hears men chatting about the mad psychic professor in a pub. Immediately her life is in great danger, especially after she's asked to take crime-scene photos and notices several cat claw gashes on a victim's hand(the drunkard who receives the pitchfork in his torso). And, the young couple found dead(due to information Miles provides his former lady-love begging for his assistance in finding her missing daughter)had locked their door from the inside of the shack where they were found leaving only a tiny duct as the only entrance in(..for which Jill sees cat footprints in sand within that duct exit). So, the cat's identity is threatened. But, as Jill seeks after the truth, will she be able to survive Miles' wrath or be trapped within a mortared wall never to be seen again?

In this film, Fulci uses a really cool camera trick by lensing from the eyes of the cat as it heads for a particular destination suggesting to the viewer that possible death was imminent. Fulci also loves to focus the camera in on the crazed(..and, at times, focused)eyes of Patrick Magee, a really intense actor who has the ability to show facets of madness so incredibly and convincingly. Fulci creates some really foreboding shots of his mad face within the dark. The film is quite Gothic with Fulci very dependent on fog as a mood piece. Not overtly violent, but gets it's point across. There are some nasty moments when the cat attacks the hands and face of certain victims. But, this is at it's best an exercise in style..which Fulci can give to us in abundance.