CAT OF THE DAY 077: THE UNCANNY (1977)

“We let them prowl about just as they please, hardly noticing them. And all the time, they’re watching us, spying on us, making sure that we behave.”

In this Major Cat Movie, Peter Cushing plays a writer nervously delivering his precious manuscript to Ray Milland; he has written a book about a feline plot to take over the world, and relates three stories to the sceptical publisher to back up his argument that cats are out to get us.

In truth, the characters whose deaths are caused by cats in the three stories in this portmanteau horror movie all behave atrociously and, narratively speaking, pretty much deserve their fates. The cats chew through ropes and rip out throats, but as always the classic modus operandi is the best – tripping someone up when they’re coming down the stairs. And all the time, despite the best efforts of the film-makers, they look adorable.

“One explanation fits all the stories, all the facts. It’s here – years of research, evidence from all over the world proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that cats have been exploiting the human race for centuries. We think we’re the masters and they’re merely pets but we’re wrong! They are the masters, and some day…”

Vampire cat alert! But Robert Ellis’s credits sequence, with its paintings of cats, is altogether rather lovely.

 

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