Halloween Spook-tacular - Cats in Horror!

5th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

October 15th to 31st

October’s the perfect time for Horror movies – so I decided to combine my two favorite subjects – horror movies and CATS – and come up with a list of scary movies starring – you guessed it – fabulous felines.  Thanks to IMDB for the synopses!

Cat’s Eye – 1985 – written by Stephen King – starring Drew Barrymore

Three horror-thriller tales revolve around a mysterious stray cat which is attempting to find a little girl in trouble. In "Quitters, Inc.": the cat is picked up by a shady New York "doctor" who uses experimental techniques to get people to quit smoking. His latest client is a man named Morrison, who learns he'll suffer some terrible consequences if he tries to cheat. In "The Ledge": the cat is picked up by Cressner, a shady Atlantic City millionaire who forces tennis pro Norris (his wife's lover), to walk a narrow ledge around his high-rise penthouse apartment. In "The General": the cat arrives in Wilmington, North Carolina, where it is found by Amanda, the young girl it has been sent to protect. What she needs protection from is a tiny, evil troll who lives behind the skirting board in her bedroom.  Do not watch with lights out!

  

The Black Cat – 1934 – Bela Lugosi –Boris Karloff - Based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe

Honeymooning in Hungary, Joan and Peter Allison share their train compartment with Dr. Vitus Verdegast, a courtly but tragic man who is returning to the remains of the town he defended before becoming a prisoner of war for fifteen years. When their hotel-bound bus crashes in a mountain storm and Joan is injured, the travellers seek refuge in the home, built fortress-like upon the site of a bloody battlefield, of famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig. There, cat-phobic Verdegast learns his wife's fate, grieves for his lost daughter, and must play a game of chess for Allison's life.  A good Lugosi-Karloff pairing.

Cat People – 1942 –Simone Simon (remade in 1981)

Irena Dubrovna, a beautiful and mysterious Serbian-born fashion artist living in New York City, falls in love with and marries average-Joe American Oliver Reed. Their marriage suffers though, as Irena believes that she suffers from an ancient curse- whenever emotionally aroused, she will turn into a panther and kill. Oliver thinks that is absurd and childish, so he sends her to psychiatrist Dr. Judd to cure her. Easier said than done... Remade in 1982 with a slight plot change… A young woman's sexual awakening brings horror when she discovers her urges transform her into a monstrous black leopard. Pick one – they’re both scary.

 But by far the winner....Pet Sematary!!!!!!!

1989

Written by Stephen King, Based on the book by Stephen King

Stars Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne

·        Movie sticks pretty much to the plot of the book: After moving into their new home the Creed family's cat is killed after wondering onto the highway. Jud an elderly neighbor shows Louis, the father, to an isolated hill behind the local Pet Cemetery and instructs him to bury the deceased feline there. Not long after the cat reappears at the Creed home, only he is not the same. The docile cat is now vicious and destructive. When their youngest son meets with a fatal accident, the distraught Louis buries him in the same location hoping to revive him. Unfortunately he unleashes far more than he had bargained for.

I had my eyes closed for most of the last half of this movie – THAT’s how scary it is.  And what a perfect touch, having Fred Gwynne portray the neighbor Jud Crandall (he played Herman on the Munsters).  This wins the award for scariest cat horror movie….EVER!

Do you  have any favorite horror movies featuring cats? Or just any movies featuring cats?  Leave a comment below, and we’ll select one winner at random to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card PLUS an autographed ARC of my cozy mystery, MEOW IF ITS MURDER starring Nick, the tuxedo cat!  Contest closes midnight, October 31 – open to US residents only.

MEOW!

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