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Information

Year
1942
Runtime
73 min.
Director
Jacques Tourneur
Genres
Thriller, Horror
Rating *
7.4
Votes *
11,617
Checks
6,139
Favs
395
Dislikes
37
Favs/checks
6.4% (1:16)
Favs/dislikes
11:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. Siskoid's avatar

    Siskoid

    While Universal Monsters had the money for elaborate make-up, Transylvanian sets, and cutting-edge effects, RKO put producer Val Lewton on a strict budgetary diet and told him to churn out competing movies based on provided titles alone. The first of these set the tone. Cat People is a psychological, atmospheric, supernatural thriller where the scares are provided by fleeting shadows, sound design, and the audience's own imagination. In short, it's more effective (and less likely to get outdated) horror at a fraction of the cost, with a definite Hitchcockian flavor. It's the story of a Serbian woman who feels out of place in America until she finds a man she loves. Only, not even then. Haunted by childhood folk stories of cat people, she fears she may be one of them on account of her strange effect on animals, and her deep ennui even in a loving marriage. Played as a romance/drama, the horror hits home in the third act, once we have a handle on every character's personal stakes. This is how you make a horror film on a shoestring budget - you make the budget not matter to the story as told. 6 years 5 months ago
  2. MikeyLou's avatar

    MikeyLou

    Absolutely loved it.

    Such a shame the 'Lewton bus' ended up being the most horrifically over- and misused narrative mechanism in horror films.
    12 years 9 months ago
  3. Hippiemans's avatar

    Hippiemans

    Cinematographic masterpiece! Brilliant use of shadows, especially in the pool scene. 9 years 8 months ago
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In 15 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #28 in TSZDT's The 1,000 Greatest Horror Films
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    TSZDT's The 1,000 Greate…

    28
  2. This movie ranks #29 in Butler's Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen
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    Butler's Fantasy Cinema:…

    29
  3. This movie ranks #63 in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese
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    A Personal Journey with …

    63
  4. This movie ranks #98 in iCheckMovies's 1940s Top 100
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    iCheckMovies's 1940s Top…

    98
  5. This movie ranks #109 in Library of Congress's National Film Registry
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    Library of Congress's Na…

    109
  6. This movie ranks #150 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
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    1001 Movies You Must See…

    150
  7. This movie ranks #157 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
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    Time Out's 1000 Films to…

    157
  8. This movie ranks #158 in BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films Project
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    BFI's 360 Classic Featur…

    158
  9. This movie ranks #213 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
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    Jonathan Rosenbaum's Ess…

    213
  10. This movie ranks #262 in David Thomson's Have You Seen?
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    David Thomson's Have You…

    262
  11. This movie ranks #295 in Roger Ebert's Great Movies
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    Roger Ebert's Great Movi…

    295
  12. This movie ranks #468 in TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films

    468
  13. This movie ranks #574 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    574
  14. This movie ranks #852 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
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    Sight & Sound's The Grea…

    852
  15. This movie ranks #992 in The Criterion Collection
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    The Criterion Collection

    992
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