The Black Cat (Severin Films Blu-Ray Review)

Is The Black Cat Treasure or Treasure

Blu Ray Distributed By Severin / October 27, 2020

From Luigi Cozzi – the writer/director of STARCRASH, CONTAMINATION and PAGANINI HORROR – comes the over-the-top meta-shocker about a production company filming a new sequel to one of ‘70s Italian horror’s best-known classics and the resurrected supernatural demon that may destroy them all. Caroline Munro (MANIAC), Brett Halsey (THE DEVIL’S HONEY), Florence Guérin (BLACK VENUS) and Urbano Barberini (OPERA) star in this long-unseen fan favorite – originally released in Italy as DEMONS 6 – now transferred in 2k from pristine vault elements for the first time ever.

Jamie’s Take (3.5 / 5)

It’s been too long dear readers. My sincerest apologies. Life can sometimes throw you curveballs causing simple pleasures to become strenuous tasks. Sometimes a break to reflect is needed to clear one’s mind. I am sorry to have been away, but I am back and hope I can entertain by putting a smile on your twisted faces. Good to see you all again.

I had the pleasure to watch Luigi Cozzi’s (Paganini Horror) 1990 WTF horror film loosely based on the Edgar Allen Story The Black Cat. And when I say loosley, I am talking more loose than the cast of the T.V. show Teen Moms. There is barely a glimpse of the Poe story here. If one knows anything by our reviews or Italian genre cinema in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, one knows that story is not their strong suit. Trying to explain the plot of The Black Cat is like asking some of the world’s greatest mystery’s: does Bigfoot exist, is there a Loch ness Monster, why do you never see baby Pigeons, why did girls treat Jamie Klein in the 90’s like a venereal disease?

The story starts off simple enough as an actress (Florence Guerin from Top Model and Faceless) named Anne is working on a horror film where strange happenings around her start to take place. As she is being cast to star in her next film, a sequel to Suspiria (yes, this movie is like a What Would Happen if…) the witch demon Levana starts to haunt Anne by trying to take over her spirit and somehow using her body to come into our world and take it over.

Oh there is way more batshit going on as there is a black cat roaming about, visions of a little girl holding a glowing ball pops in and out randomly, the sky seems to shoot out lasers every few moments (Luigi Cozzi loves his fucking lasers!) and soon people start getting possessed or bumped off. Eventually by the 45 min mark, I had given up trying to make heads or tails of this movie as it doesn’t make a lick of sense.

While some viewers will hate the lunacy of what is going on, I actually enjoyed it and found it fun. For a 90 minute movie, it is never boring and there is plenty going on to entertain. I couldn’t stop laughing at Brett Halsey’s small cameo as a furious film producer barking at everyone or the fact that Caroline Munro is much older than all the other actors around her as she plays a bombshell actress that may or may not be good. Also, are babies in Italy not required to have car seats? Anne has a baby that the demon witch is trying to obtain and at one point Anne places her kid on the seat next to her, racing away!

A great drinking game would be is to drink every time a laser beam is shown. Characters shoot laser beams out of their hands and eyes at any given moment. I was waiting for someone to shoot a laser out of their ass at one point. Oh and gore fans will not be disappointed as there is a decent chest bursting scene with nice bladder effects ala Scanners. I also don’t think an Italian horror film can go without maggots and goo and The Black Cat has plenty of that in store for those who like the gross out moments.

Severin’s blu ray looks nice and while the colors look a tad muted and dull, the transfer is pretty decent for the most part. It can at times appear a little grainy but otherwise it looks pretty good (much better than the first time I saw this film on a bootleg under the title Demons 6. By the time I was near the climax of the film, I had realized I saw this before). It appears the actors spoke their native language when making the film so pretty much everyone is dubbed. There is no crackling or hissing so all good there in the audio department.

Aside from the trailer there is an all too brief interview with Cozzi and Munro where they discuss the making of the film and how Cozzi wanted to make a science fiction film but was forced by producers to keep it a horror film. I am unsure how you would make a science fiction film out of Poe’s The Black Cat but he certainly tries with the laser beams I guess. Munro seems to have pleasant memories while making the film but I sure wished there was more interviews or a commentary track included with the disc. Sometimes Severin includes soundtracks with their discs and I had wished I had The Black Cat‘s soundtrack as I enjoyed the music by Vince Tempera (The Psychic, Four of the Apocalypse) as well as the randomly placed heavy metal music that would spontaneously play at various moments.

The Black Cat is a perfect movie to watch late at night. It’s the type of movie if you fall asleep and wake up later on, you won’t be lost because you will already be lost shortly after you start the movie. The Black Cat is pretty insane: it’s silly, incoherent, un-intentionally funny, and…shit the film is straight up entertaining. It doesn’t try to be anything it is not. There is no message and it doesn’t take itself seriously and it is a good time. Maybe I needed this type of movie right now. Ok folks, Dr. Klein’s orders: if you feel blue, throw on this version of The Black Cat and try and have a good time. It just may help.

R.I.P. Emily

Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?

Jamie says: Hidden Treasure!