29 March 2024
The Black Cat (1981)
98 min.
Directed by Lucio Fulci.
With Patrick Magee, Mimsy Farmer, David Warbeck, Dagmar Lassander, Al Cliver, Daniela Doria.
Be careful not to confuse this one with the classic 1934 Karloff-Lugosi flick. Or the 1941 mystery-thriller starring Basil Rathbone. Then again, how could anyone possibly confuse the three?

This lesser effort from Lucio Fulci details a string of murders in a quiet English village. Are the murders being committed by some sort of big, lone, psychotic cat? Or does a creepy parapsychiatrist (Magee) have something to do with it?

The normally free-flowing Fulci gore is rather restrained here, while the paper thin plot leaves one typically nonplussed. But troopers Farmer and Magee are enjoyable to watch together, and the atmosphere is nicely created. A mixed bag, to be sure, but nevertheless a good rainy evening view.

Fulci's done much better than this, but is this his worst film? Nah...

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