However ridiculous, the premise is immediately eye-catching, especially for a cat lover like myself, and that was all it took to draw me in. As the movie begins, we just as quickly take in the fetching filming location, fine attention to costume design, hair and makeup, and detailed if garish set decoration. Of course, these hardly distract from the content at hand that is certainly very grisly, and generally downright tawdry in its realization - I've seen this referred to as a "cat horror exploitation film," and that is as fitting a description as one will find. 'Night of 1000 cats' is certainly a curious experience, I'll say that much.
Long scenes of churlish playboy murderer "Hugo" (Hugo Stiglitz, wooden and less than impressive) flying his helicopter close over residential properties are taxing and absurd in their playfulness, to say nothing of the way he very conspicuously follows some marks. Why, judging from this feature alone, Stiglitz is readily outclassed by costar Gerardo Zepeda, cast in the underwritten, over the top supporting role of Dorgo, "Hugo's" servant.
Speaking of underwritten - even recognizing the coarse nature of the feature, the plot here is outrageously thin. So it is too for the screenplay as a whole - scenes, characters, dialogue. I can't say I'm impressed with the camerawork, the sound seems deficient, and inelegant transitions also reflect poorly on the editing. Meanwhile, it's hard to assess the performances of other members of the cast when they are given so little screen time, and so little to do, and are so heavily restricted by the picture's weak craft.
One would also be terribly remiss not to mention the animal cruelty in the movie. I would like to believe that the most egregious instances are just very carefully staged, but I simply don't know if that's true. And anyway, for the sheer number of cats we see, and under the circumstances in which we see them, it's hard not to be concerned for abuse and neglect. What became of all these beautiful felines after production wrapped? I'm afraid to ask.
On the one hand I'm put out that the full 93-minute cut is so difficult to find; if nothing else, I would hope that what seems like highly indelicate narrative writing is fleshed out with more and longer scenes. On the other hand, I'm wholly unsure that those extra 30 minutes, omitted from the American release, would be worth my while in the first place. I really do like the idea of the movie, and I'd love to see this given a proper, judicious remake. Unfortunately, the rendition that we have is less than satisfying. Even for the most ardent ailurophile or fan of schlocky, dubious 70s horror, I'm just not convinced that 'Night of 1000 cats' is actually worth the time it takes to watch. I love the concept, but the movie we have gotten out of it is specious at best.
