Cat's Eye (1985)

Director:

Lewis Teague

Writer:

Stephen King (writer)

Release Date:

12 April 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Through the eye of the cat, a twisted tail of macabre suspense from the author of CARRIE, The SHINING and THE DEAD ZONE.

Plot:

A stray cat is the linking element of three tales of suspense and horror.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Ledge | Wilmington North Carolina | Troll | Young Girl

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Drew Barrymore	...	Our Girl / Amanda
James Woods	...	Dick Morrison
Alan King	...	Dr. Vinny Donatti
Kenneth McMillan	...	Cressner
Robert Hays	...	Johnny Norris
Candy Clark	...	Sally Ann
James Naughton	...	Hugh
Tony Munafo	...	Junk
Court Miller	...	Mr. McCann
Russell Horton	...	Mr. Milquetoast
Patricia Benson	...	Mrs. Milquetoast
Mary D'Arcy	...	Cindy
James Rebhorn	...	Drunk Businessman
Jack Dillon	...	Janitor
Susan Hawes	...	Mrs. McCann

Also Known As:

Stephen King's Cat's Eye

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 (video premiere) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Cressner promises Robert Hays's character that if he wins their bet he'll get, "the girl, the gold watch, and everything," a reference to The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (1980) (TV), which starred Hays.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Norris shoots the gun at Cressner, the gun makes a very loud sound, even though it has a silencer.

Quotes:

Sally Ann: Polly got in one good peck before that cat killed her. Good for Polly!
Hugh: I certainly never realized that Polly had such a big pecker.

Movie Connections:

References "Muppet Babies" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Every Breath You Take

Fun horror/anthology movie

"Cat's Eye" is another horror anthology movie that I found to be a nice companion piece with "Twilight Zone: The Movie". The thing that surprised me about this film is that it's a suspense comedy loaded with thrills galore and dark humor. Instead of four separate tales, "Cat's Eye" has just three, with a plucky tabby cat intervening through all three stories. And all three segments are directed by the same man (Lewis Teague). Stephen King wrote all three segments, with the first two segments based on short stories written by King. The first segment is a black comedy starring James Woods in some of the funniest acting that he's ever done as a man who wants to quit smoking. He goes to a place called Quitters, Inc. This clinic is run by a most unusual doctor played by comedian Alan King. Woods finds out quickly that their methods of trying to make smokers quit are odd. Very, very odd. This story isn't really scary but it's downright hilarious with Woods trying desperately to kick the habit. King is also very funny as the doc. This is a very good segment. But my favorite segment of "Cat's Eye" is the second one. The late Kenneth McMillan stars as a ruthless gambler who kidnaps a tennis player (Robert Hays from "Airplane!") who's been doing a little you-know-what on his wife. McMillan makes a strange bet with the tennis pro: walk on top of a short ledge around the gambler's high rise building 50-60 stories up. This segment is a scary one, with a few touches of black humor (even though this segment isn't as funny as the first one). King wrote the third segment directly for the screen. He wrote it for a then very young pre-teen Drew Barrymore (who a year earlier starred in King's "Firestarter"). Barrymore plays a little girl who takes that tabby cat in to live with her after the cat runs into her house. The reason why the cat ran into her house: kitty spotted a little tiny gremlin strolling into the place. The cat comes in and tries to save the day. This segment is silly but fun. All in all, "Cat's Eye" is an underrated gem. Funny, scary, and entertaining.

*** (out of four)