generationofswine Yeah, I know it's a flawed film, I mean, I caught it one night, LATE at night, on cable TV when I was a kid. HBO to be specific and at an hour reserved for only failed and low quality films.In other words, I found it at a place where movies go to die. The equivalent of the bargain box at a toy store.But, I liked it. It wasn't the usual thriller and that's saying a lot given that thrillers, like action movies, all have relatively the same plot. They tend to be like the Harley Davidson store crowd as in they all dress the same and claim they are rebels. Cat Chaser was something different. The plot stood out. Peter Weller did as best a job he could. The cast did as best a job as they could.It was just, the director didn't really know what to do with the script, which was, I learned, (thank you IMDB) based on an Elmore Leonard novel...and that sort of says it all.The writer, Elmore Leonard, isn't exactly a literary great. He has an irritating vernacular. BUT, he also has a talent for creating unique characters and unique settings and situations and stringing them all together into a coherent plot.Leonard is a pulp writer, but he was a pulp writer that was original in his approach to just about everything and his stories are a pleasure to read.And, when, like this one, they are adapted to the big screen, that uniqueness carries over. Even in a bad film, as this one was--albeit a bad film with good acting--it becomes a story that you haven't really encountered before and you won't encounter again.So give it a watch, it's Elmore Leonard, you aren't seeing a great film, but you are going to see a story you haven't encountered before, and to me, that alone is worth 10 out of 10 stars.Don't rate it on it's cinematic prowess, watch it for the plot, it's new, it's original, and, even if its badly done, we need a lot more of that, especially now, when almost everything we see is exactly like almost everything else we are seeing.

Wizard-8 Despite having some notable people in the roles of writer, director, and actor, "Cat Chaser" was never given a theatrical release. It may have been because Vestron Pictures was always struggling when it came to releasing its movies since it never had as much money as the major studios had when it came to marketing and distribution. But I think the real reason for the movie going direct to video is that it isn't very good overall. Not everything about the movie is bad - the acting (especially by Charles Durning) is decent. But the movie ultimately sinks due to a combination of unspectacular locations (which are also flatly photographed) and a story that after the first twenty minutes makes very little sense afterwards. The trivia section says the rough cut ran 157 minutes - obviously A LOT of explanation was taken away in the editing room. If I ever get the chance to see the 157 minute version someday, I'll give the movie another chance. Until then, this is a movie to avoid.

squelcho Could have been so much more, given the supporting cast and Elmore Leonard's script, but it's a flat beer of a movie. Maybe Ferrara got homesick, but the pacing and editing is unusually lethargic, so perhaps impending bankruptcy was driving the whole production into the throes of despair. The performances are so underwhelming as to be invisible. Weller is a B-movie actor. Robocop is still his finest hour. McGillis looks fairly lantern-jawed and mannish throughout. Was Ferrara taking the mickey by shooting her profile so often?. Tree-like in every scene, could anyone seriously find her charms so irresistible?The bogus history lessons and lightweight back story are dull as ditchwater. And the mushy love scenes between the two leads just don't cut it. A clunker for completists. Catch it on afternoon TV if you're paralysed from the neck up.Hard to believe that Ferrara had anything at all to do with this movie.

Coxer99 Strong performance from McGillis still doesn't help this confusing thriller from Abel Ferrera. In the unrated version, there is a scene with McGillis in bed where she is asked to strip down nude. When asked to lie down on the bed, her captor takes out a revolver and places it in a sensitive place. It's a horrific image to imagine what could happen but Ferera is known for pushing the envelope.