The Black Cat (1989)

An actress starts seeing visions of a witch character called Levana, which she's supposed to play in an upcoming horror movie, and slowly begins to discover a supernatural plot against her life.

Director:

Luigi Cozzi (as Lewis Coates)

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story "The Black Cat"), Luigi Cozzi (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Florence Guérin, Urbano Barberini, Caroline Munro

Cast

Cast overview:
Florence Guérin	...	Anne Ravenna
Urbano Barberini	...	Marc Ravenna
Caroline Munro	...	Nora
Brett Halsey	...	Leonard Levin
Luisa Maneri	...	Sara
Karina Huff	...	Esther Semerani
Alessandra Acciai	...	Nadine
Giada Cozzi	...	Sybil
Michele Marsina	...	Flora
Jasmine Maimone	...	Laura
Antonio Marsina	...	Repairman

Storyline

A horror movie in production resurrects a witch called Levana, who is the main evil character in the movie. Levana tries to take over our world so that evil can be spread everywhere, but the only one in her way is Anne, who is to play Levana in the movie. Now, the battle of good and evil begins.

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Plot Keywords:

giallo | supernatural | fictional horror movie | film within a film | movie making | 

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Taglines:

Between dreams & nightmares... between reality & fantasy... lies the terror of

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was originally proposed as an unofficial finale to Dario Argento's then-incomplete 'Three Mothers' trilogy. Originally a script draft was written by Dario Argento's ex-wife Daria Nicolodi, but producer Dino De Laurentiis (who she gave the script to) wasn't interested, and Argento (who originally was supposed to direct) moved away from the project and focused on his next movie 'Tenebrae'. A few years later, Nicolodi gave the script to her friend Luigi Cozzi, wanting him to turn it into a movie. Cozzi decided to do it but didn't want to make a straight sequel to Argento's 'Suspiria' and 'Inferno', so he re-wrote the script into something that is more of a tribute to the two Argento movies. Nicolodi (who originally was supposed to star in it) realized that Cozzi's version was not what she had in mind, and so she left the project.

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Connections

Spun-off from Inferno (1980)

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Soundtracks

Someone like you
Written by Leste, Ketler, Kyle & Stevens
Played by Bang Tango
Published by Bang Tango Music 1989
[plays over end credits]

User Reviews

Ugh, such a frustrating and ridiculous mess.

I am usually very "forgiving" when it comes to horror movies, to the point where I can acknowledge and value the general idea and overlook the narrative flaws. If the film as a whole is fun to watch, it has a well developed atmosphere and it features a decent amount of horror elements, I'm pretty much okay with it ... but the story has to make SOME sense, at least. Well, "The Black Cat" (or any of the many other titles that this movie has) is an example of a flick that is just frustrating to sit through. Director Luigi Cozzi may not entirely be at fault, perhaps the producers forcibly squeezed things into the movie for the sole purpose of shock value... or something. I have read many times that several directors end up unhappy with the final results of their films, because they were asked to add random creatures, murders or over-the-top sequences, even if they only add confusion to the story, just to make the film more marketable. I don't know the reasons behind this mess, but this is just a really confusing and convoluted film that had no business being that way, because it could have been told in a much simpler way. Actually, the first half an hour of the film is decent and it keeps it simple, but "The Black Cat" progressively becomes more and more random, to the point where inexplicable situations just happen constantly, and eventually, you just stop even trying to make any sense out of it (at least, I know I did). I can only assume that several random sequences and shots were probably added at the last minute because it was unused footage from a different film and they didn't want to let it go to waste. It's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with.

As for the photography, the director clearly took inspiration in Dario Argento's "Suspiria" and "Inferno" (both films are referenced here), but the strident color scheme ends up being a little bit over the top. Besides the artificial color palette, the use of CGI, which is very frequent during the second half of the film, cheapens the visuals considerably and it could have been a lot better without it.

A few creative deaths and stylish sequences don't save this film from being a big pile of randomness, so, skip this, unless you just want to have a good laugh. "The Black Cat" is just a frustrating experience and a waste of time.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

1989 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Demons 6: De Profundis

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

21st Century Film Corporation, World Picture

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1