The Uncanny (1977)

Director:

Denis Héroux

Writer:

Michel Parry (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Cats aren't always cute and cuddly!

Plot:

Wilbur Gray visits Frank Richards so he can get his book published. This book Gray has written are about cats...

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Death | Witchcraft | Murder | Hollywood

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Wilbur Gray
Ray Milland	...	Frank Richards
Joan Greenwood	...	Miss Malkin
Roland Culver	...	Wallace
Susan Penhaligon	...	Janet
Simon Williams	...	Michael
Alexandra Stewart	...	Mrs. Blake
Donald Pilon	...	Mr. Blake
Chloe Franks	...	Angela
Katrina Holden Bronson	...	Lucy (as Katrina Holden)
Renée Girard	...	Mrs. Maitland
Donald Pleasence	...	Valentine De'ath
Samantha Eggar	...	Edina Hamilton
John Vernon	...	Pomeroy
Catherine Bégin	...	Madeleine

Also Known As:

Brrr... (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (1986) | UK:18 (TV rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Cinévidéo

Trivia:

"The Uncanny" is the fifth Milton Subotsky film in which a character has the name "Maitland" ("Mrs. Maitland" played by Renee Girard). The others are "And Now The Screaming Starts" (1973) in which Guy Rolfe plays "Maitland;" "Tales From the Crypt" (1972) in which Ian Hendry plays "Carl Maitland;" "The Skull" (1965) which top-bills Peter Cushing as "Dr. Christopher Maitland;" and the earliest, "City of the Dead" (aka "Horror Hotel," 1960) in which Tom Naylor plays "Bill Maitland."

Quotes:

Lucy: Wellington? Wellington? Where are you Wellington?

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Very silly, but in a good way...

No need to summarize the plot, given the extraordinary number of reviews on IMDb that explain every nuance with nary a 'spoiler warning' in sight. Then again, if you watch it you'll see every twist years in advance so I guess it doesn't matter. The Uncanny doesn't work on the scary level it's supposed to (unless you have some sort of rampant phobia about domestic cats) but it definitely works on a laugh-out-loud "oh, come on!" level. The interesting thing about the three stories is that cats are presented as instruments of evil when it's actually the humans that are the real antagonists. We were cheering whenever some greedy rotter met their fate at the fangs of a vengeful moggie! The inadvertent message appears to be that if cats really were secret 'World Police' then no evil deed would go unpunished. Given that their price appears to nothing more than a steady supply of cuddles and bowls of milk they could be a great replacement for the UN peacekeeping forces...