A stray tabby cat is on
a journey to save a little girl named
Amanda (Drew Barrymore) from peril as she
seems to communicate with the cat along
it's journey but the cat always runs into
all sorts of trouble along it's way.
First there's New York
City where a mafia type of doctor named
Vinnie Donatti (Alan King) uses the cat
to show people what will happen to them
if they don't quit smoking in the chapter
Quitters Inc.
as his centre is all
about to quit the crave of nicotine.
A man named Dick Morrison (James Woods)
wants to quit smoking so badly and goes
to the centre but realises he's in danger
after Vinnie tells him that his wife will
be put in danger if he smokes one
cigarette after their meeting and then
his whole family too.
He doesn't get any privacy at home even
as Vinnie's people stalk him wherever he
goes.
The cat manages to
escape and then travels on a boat to
Atlantic City where a millionaire mobster
named Cressner (Kenneth McMillan) keeps
the cat in his building while he forces a
fading tennis pro named Johnny Norris
(Robert Hays) who is also Cressner's
wife's adulterous lover, to walk a narrow
ledge around his high-rise penthouse
apartment in the second chapter called The
Ledge.
Johnny is close to death while doing so
but he has to keep moving while Cressner
is taunting him along the way.
Then the cat makes a
clean getaway on a vehicle going to North
Carolina in which the cat reaches
Amanda's house as she is nearly killed by
a little murderous troll by trying to
steal her breath while sleeping in the
chapter The General.
First Amanda's budgie is killed and her
parents thinks it's the cat's doing so
the cat is taken to a shelter home and
nearly about to be put down.
But then, the troll is about to take
Amanda's breath away like this little
creature planned to do and the cat
manages to escape the shelter home and
will Amanda be rescued in time before
it's too late????
A brilliant horror
anthology making it a one story line
leading to different surroundings of the
film which involves a cat travelling to
see everyone's story.
This was a total Stephen King
tribute type of film using similar types
of character and other King type
of material.
Although the performances are great and
so is the direction the stories are
awfully bland.
Quitter
Inc. was the most twisted tale
of them all involving a mafia type of
people forcing people to quit smoking
which really creeps you out about having
an addiction. It is very unreal and
psychological.
The Ledge
is a peer pressure fear of heights which
is scary itself by what this person does
to risk his own life and gives you the
chills too.
The
General is the best chapter with
a child's fear of monsters coming after
her at night and it suddenly really
happens. Very imaginative indeed and a
cool thought of a cat protecting you.
The acting is very
good in the film for it's time as we get
a chraming performance by a very young Drew
Barrymore as an innocent little girl
in the film as this was her second Stephen
King flick after Firestarter
and of course it all goes back to her
fame in E.T.
James Woods is wonderful as someone
trying to have will power in order to
quit smoking
Alan King lived to play a bad ass
mafia type doctor who forces people to
quit smoking or they face nasty
consequences caused by him as he brings
his role across strongly intimidating.
Mary D'Arcy comes across wonderfully
as an innocent housewife which makes you
want to protect her from danger.
Kenneth McMillan played a great
goofy but bad ass mobster in the film as
he is full of character and a real ham.
Candy Clark comes across well as a
closed minded mother almost seeming
wickedly too.
There is a brief
shot of a decapitated head in The
Ledge.
A troll is cut up by a fan in The
General
Lewis Teague who
brought you CUJO brings
more psychological twists in this
anthology with his directing as he does a
well job at it too.
He shows an impressive beginning with a
beautiful tabbycat opening it's eyes with
the opening credits. Also good shots on
the dog Cujo chasing after the cat and
the car Christine rolling by as well.
There is a nice shot on the cat pawing at
a store window with an image of Drew
Barrymore speaking to the cat inside
of the shop.
There is a strange
moment in the chapter of Quitters
Inc. with both actors James
Woods and Alan King having
a discussion to quit smoking in an office
together.
There's a nice shot on King pounding
on some cigarettes and acting crazy about
it.
There were funny shots on the cat in a
room where it is acting in a frenzy with
the shocks it's receiving on the floor
yet it looks disturbing too as I hate
animal cruelty.
King really knew how to say his
speech about what is going to happen if
he tries to smoke one cigarette.
A nice camera shot on Woods
sitting on a couch looking disturbed by
what happened with his discussion.
There's a nice dialogue between him and Mary
D'Arcy about quitting smoking and
his fearsome expressions of what can
happen to her.
There's a good shot of Woods
walking around at night in the house
during a thunderstorm looking for some
cigarettes and then stares at a closet
after he hears a sound as the camera pans
on the closet nicely which looks creepy
as you feel too scared to find out what's
going to happen if he opens the closet
doors.
A nice setting at a party showing the
extra's smoking cigarettes as well as
seeing hallucinations off it around the
room with smoke blowing out of people's
nostrils and ears. It looked quite creepy
and comedic at the same time.
We have a great shot on supporting actor
James Rebhorn acting crazy with
smoke coming out of his ears as well as
cigarettes hanging out of his mouth.
There's a fighting sequence with all
three actors Tony Munafo, Woods and
King struggling to get a gun.
D'Arcy really knew how to freak out
with a scene of her in the shocking room.
There's a good twisted dialogue between Woods
with King being pleased about
everything in the end as if Woods were
brainwashed that what went on was a good
thing.
In the Ledge
he really brought alot of suspense into
it.
There's great camera shots on the cat
trying to cross a road with a bunch of
cars driving by and a great shot of cars
crashing when the cat crosses the street.
We have perfect camera shots on lead
actor Robert Hays while walking
on the ledges of a tall building trying
not not lose his balance or fall off
which makes you cringe to everyone who is
scared of heights and have every right to
while watching the direction on this.
There's good shots on Kenneth
McMillan mocking this person and
trying to scare him too.
We have a real funny moment with a shot
of a pigeon pecking on Hays
foot.
The General
is probably one of the best directions
ever as well as the best chapter. There
are nice camera shots lurking in the
trees towards a house which is of course
the actions of the killer troll.
There's nice shots of the cat running
into the house too.
We have a nice dialogue with Barrymore
trying to convince Sally Ann as
her mother to keep the cat which looked
real as a child confronting a parent.
Barrymore really knew how to cry on set
after experiencing her budgie dead.
There's a good dialogue between Candy
Clark and James Naughton
after thinking the cat was responsible
for killing the budgie which seemed quite
humorous on how they were discussing it.
A nice direction on Clark trying
to call the cat to put it in a box as she
seemed a little wicked while doing so.
A good shot on the cat lying in a cage at
a shelter home getting ready to plan it's
getaway.
Barrymore does well acting like
she's suffocating after the troll took
her oxygen.
Great shots on the cat attacking the
troll.
There is a good dialogue with Barrymore
and Clark with their discussion
on not discussing what they encountered. Clark
showed a nice and stern expression.
There is a nice and touching scene with
the cat showing Barrymore some
affection in bed when you think that
something deadly is going to happen.
We have some good stompin
synthesizer composing by the likes of Alan
Silvestri as he has an effective
scoring to the film.
In Quitter's Inc.
we have the song "Every Breath You
Take" by the Police in a
room where people are smoking which is
perfect. It also plays in The
General on a little kids record
player.
We also have "Twist &
Shout" performed by the oldies
artists Phil Medley and Bert
Russell as it is being played in the
room where the shocking treatments happen
with the cat.
Next is "96 Tears" by R.
Martinez with the shocking room
where the wife is being tortured.
There's a
great closing song during the rolling
credits called "Cat's Eye" by
Ray Stephens as it gives that total
80's feel to it.
Richard 'Dick' Morrison:
[after being offered a cigarette at a
party] Why don't you shove them up
your ass, Hal?
Drunk businessman: What? Lit?
[Hugh
and Sally Ann believe a cat killed their
pet canary when it was actually the
handiwork of an evil troll]
Sally Ann: Polly got in one good
peck before the cat killed her.
Hugh: I certainly didn't realize
Polly had such a big pecker.
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