The Cat (1992) User Reviews

That's one tough pussy.

[ElijahCSkuggs · 7/10 · 17 January 2009]

I've had The Cat on my to-see list for some time now, and I finally sat my fat ass down to watch it. Story revolves around the spacemen (dude, chick and a cat) who left their planet because of, I think they said, "Evil Influence". Well, they're now here on Earth and that evil has followed them. And it's their goal to destroy this evil or what they call it, "The Enemy". Do the spacemen stop the Enemy? Does the Cat save the day? Or does it run out of lives? Find out in The Cat.

When the picture has anything related to the enemy going on or if the Cat is on screen the movie does well for itself. Because you know some crazy creature effects and gore will happen, some funny cat antics or just some cute, snuggly and cozy shots of our beloved feline are on the screen. But with a pretty lackluster side-story involving a writer and his girlfriend trying to solve the mystery of The Cat, the movie drags. So with a mix of the two the movie is kind of a mixed bag. But with such crazy scenes involving the Cat and the enemy, the movie makes you forget about any other lulls.

I've got to mention that the special effects which are very Asian in a 80's slimy, neon glow type way, are awesome. They're just simply very fun. And with the Enemy being just a weird take on The Blob, it's just a total joy to watch whenever it's on screen. And if there are any regular character or standins in the same scene you know some nice deaths are gonna happen.

And lastly I do have to mention that the Dog vs. Cat fight scene is probably the best in all of cinematic history. Ever see a cat set up a dog so it runs into an electrified shed? Oh? In a cartoon? Eh, well it's just as awesome in this movie. Maybe even more awesome.

So, if you're like me and enjoy whacko-Asian-weirdo-beardo type movies you should definitely enjoy at least enough of this movie to make it seem my review is worth something. Phew! Like magic cats? Like evil villains? Enjoy the cheese? Then the Cat's for you.

No cat puppets were harmed in the making of this movie.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 5 February 2021]

The Cat isn't necessarily a good film, but I do have to award it points for originality. If I were to bring the film up in conversation with a friend, they would probably think I hadn't been taking my meds. It's that insane.

It took me a good half-an-hour to get a handle on the plot, the film opening in full-on crazy mode, and staying there for the whole of its run-time. The story concerns an old man, a young woman (the lovely Gloria Yip) and a cat - all extraterrestrials - who are trying to prevent an evil creature called the 'star-killer' from doing bad stuff. The good aliens need to get hold of two precious octagons (which look nothing like octagons) before the star killer does. Cop Wisely (Waise Lee) tries to stop the cat by borrowing a big dog called Lao Pu, which leads to a hilarious canine vs. feline fight in a junkyard. Meanwhile, the star killer takes over the body of a guy called Wang (Philip Kwok), who gets himself a load of guns and launches an attack on the friendly aliens. Or something like that.

The film ends with a fun battle against the star killer, which turns into a huge amorphous monstrosity that looks like the offspring of The Thing and The Blob. It really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's never boring, frequently ridiculous, and quite unlike anything else that I've seen.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for the cat-shaped hole left in a window by the alien moggy.

Cheesy and brilliant

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 13 July 2019]

THE CAT is a typically off-the-wall science fiction flick from Hong Kong, liberally scattered with horror and action elements too. The plot appears to have been made up as they went along, although it does feature popular fictional professor Wisely as the protagonist. The main story features pretty space princess Gloria Yip and her black cat which turns out to have magical powers.

The story is quite episodic and slow in parts, although it's absolutely mad at other times and certainly sticks in the mind as a result. There's a scene in which a mastiff is called in to tackle the cat in a scrapyard which is surreal and insane, like a cartoon put on screen. Elswhere, Phillip Kwok plays another absolute bad-ass again (typecast after HARD-BOILED) and Waise Lee gets a chance to play the hero after his memorable turn as the baddie in A BULLET IN THE HEAD.

The film's real star is the special effects, which have to be seen to believed. The main characters are menaced by an amorphous space-being straight out of Lovecraft, so expect scenes of gore, dissolution and gloopiness all round. The director is also obsessed with fire and Kwok performs some incredible stunts as a result. Imagine a bizarre, frenetic mix of THE BLOB, SOCIETY, TERMINATOR 2, WESTWORLD and THE THING and you'll be there; the OTT climax manages to be both incredibly cheesy and bloody brilliant. See it to believe it.

Absurd but fun

[Watuma · 22 May 2002]

From the team that brought us the outrageous prison drama STORY OF RICKY comes an equally bizarre science-fiction movie. It isn't ashamed to "borrow" ideas from sources as diverse as CALTIKI, THE TERMINATOR, THE BLOB and THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT. The result is certainly lively and - if you're in the right frame of mind - quite entertaining.

The story concerns three visitors from another solar system whose mission on earth is to destroy "the star-killer", an amorphous Lovecraftian creature that absorbs and can re-animate its human victims. The trio is seeking two relics displayed in terrestrial museums. When joined together, the relics create an amplification device for a ray beamed from their home planet. Bathed in the amplified ray, one of the visitors - a black cat called The General - will be powerful enough to vanquish the monster.

The film's main attractions are its comely female cast members and some over-the-top action sequences. These include a junk yard battle between The General and a huge black mastiff that must be seen to be believed. There are also some quite graphic horror scenes, but the poor quality of the make-up effects mutes their impact.

Although it never attains the quality of the films it emulates, THE CAT is sufficiently fast-paced to hold our attention even while we laugh at its absurdities.

WHA???

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 8 October 2003]

From the team who made "Ricky-O" comes...well i don't know what this is, to tell you the truth. The closest thing i can relate this film to is "the Hidden"... for cats!! If that sounds bizarre, that's because it IS. In the right frame of mind (ie. drunk), it's not half bad. The problem is, with the caliber of acting & special effects, it's not half good either.

My grade: C-

Insane and amazing

[polysicsarebest · 10/10 · 23 July 2008]

From the creator of gorefest classic "Riki-Oh", comes the completely insane and ridiculous "The Cat". This actually might be more insane and better than "Riki-Oh" is, though, if you can believe that: Cats and dogs having epic battles (one of the best and most absurd things I've ever seen in a film, honestly), people exploding, electrified yogurt monsters, whole schools filled with blobs, monsters exploding into glitter, and some cop who becomes the Terminator halfway through the movie for no apparent reason.

Just completely entertaining and rewatchable in every way. Obviously not something to be taken seriously at all, but a total classic in every regard.

VERY Strange Hong Kong Weirdness...

[EVOL666 · 5/10 · 30 December 2005]

THE CAT is a nearly indescribable exploration in to ultra-weird HK cinema. Made by the people who did THE STORY OF RICKY, THE CAT is a film that pretty much defies categorization - but I'll try to give the basic idea:

We start off with a writer who begins to tell the story of a friend's weird encounters with some neighbors. Turns out the neighbors are space-people who along with their trusty cat/leader, General, are on a mission to destroy some guy who's pretty much like a funny HK caricature of the Terminator. Throw in some convoluted mess about some "octagons" that are both weapons and the space-peoples transportation device, and some weird, poorly crafted monster effects somewhat reminiscent to THE BLOB or perhaps THE THING, and there ya have it...

This one was utterly ridiculous. I hope to God that THE CAT was meant to be a comedy or I really missed the point on this one. There are some truly great (if you consider completely asinine and pretty much retarded, "great"...)scenes, including a junkyard Kung-Fu battle between General (the cat) and a big dog. This scene alone is worth at least trying to find a copy of this film to borrow from somebody. The end "climax" sequence atop a rooftop is so strange and goes from mildly weird to just all-out bizarre, that I had convinced myself that I had somehow unknowingly ingested about 14 hits of primo window-pane. Not really my cup of tea as far as Asian film goes - but worth a look if you're into Sci-Fi/Kung-Fu/Horror/Comedy/Action-hybrids. And let's face it - who's not into that...well...honestly...I guess I'm not so much...A pretty generous 5/10 for Kung-Fu cat fights and tripped out weirdness.

If the cat didn't know kung fu, it would have been a 1

[BrandedToKill · 2/10 · 30 July 2023]

Not sure what to say about this one, I'd advise you keep walking if you see it in the $1 bin at Wal-Mart. For those that are fans of Riki-Oh, you won't find the same humor and ultra-violence here. I understand that Wisely is a popular character that has been in other movies, watching this The Cat doesn't inspire confidence. I will say the fight between the cat and the dog was mildly amusing. I can only imagine what it was like on set when they were doing that scene, must have been a load of fun. I am all for B-rated classics but this one was just too slow and incoherent. I think the movie was around an hour and a half and it couldn't end soon enough for me.

Wisely is back!

[Laserdome-AMH · 12 October 2003]

Writer and adventurer Wisely gets involved when a cat from outer space wreaks havoc. But the cat and it's human friends, a young girl and an old man, are really on earth to chase a killer from space! This "star killer" possesses people and finally turns itself into a giant slimy monster. Now it's up to Wisely and the strange cat to save earth from mortal danger...

Hong Kong's popular character Wisely returns for another movie adventure. He was played by such popular actors as Yun-Fat Chow in "The Seventh Curse" or Samuel Hui Koon-Kit in "The Legend of the Golden Pearl", however this time it's the turn of Waisee Lee Chi-Hung. It's weirdness everywhere with slimy and gory special effects and a bloody fight between the cat and a dog! One of only very few attempts by the film industry of Hong Kong at science-fiction, this is a must-have for fans of strange movies.