Coventry "Eye of the Cat" is an overall silly and flawed late 60's horror flick, that's for sure, but first and foremost it's also an inventive, nicely convoluted and delightfully flamboyant late 60's horror flick! Director David Lowell Rich ("Satan School for Girls") and writer Joseph Stefano (forever famous for his "Psycho" screenplay adaptation) deliver an absurd but effectively tense thriller full of twisted characters, unexpected plot twists, morbid humor, atmospheric filming locations and subtle shock-moments! Kassia, the sly hairdresser of a wealthy and chronically ill spinster, discovers that the whimpering lady plans to leave her entire fortune to all her cats, unless her long lost and beloved nephew Wylie would return to her. Kassia promptly tracks down the nephew in question and (physically) persuades him to combine forces. As soon as the testament is updated with Wylie's name as the sole heir instead of the cats, they will murder Auntie Danny and share her fortune. One slight and unforeseen problem, however, is that Wylie suffers from ailurophobia – a terrible fear of cats – and his auntie shelters approximately three dozens of stray cats in her mansion… and these animals are not too keen on leaving! "Eye of the Cat" inconspicuously borrows ideas from other classics, most notably "The Birds" and the French "Les Diaboliques", but definitely stands on its own as a solid and refreshing entry in the thriller genre. There are several unbelievably fantastic sequences, like the opening sequences with split screens and transparent cat silhouettes, and particularly the wheelchair-down-the-hill sequence in slow-motion, which I rewound at least four times! Also typical for the period of release is the vile and unreliable nature of ALL the main characters, so we've got a script full of betrayal and double- crossing until the very last moments of the film. Last but not least "Eye of the Cat" takes place in San Francisco, flower-power capital of the world, in the year 1969. This means that, apart from beautiful sightsee material and touristy snapshots, the film is also chock-full of free-loving and eccentric characters. Protagonist Wylie, for instance, carelessly dumps his girlfriend to tag along with Kassie and later on there's a totally redundant but joyous girl-fight sequence in a sleazy hippie bar. Handsome hunk Michael Sarrazin is excellent as Wylie, and the combination with Gayle Hunnicutt results in pure chemistry. There are three indirect links between this film and the contemporary oeuvre of Alfred Hitchcock: writer Joseph Stefano, obviously, but cat trainer Ray Berwick was also the bird trainer in "The Birds" and the actor depicting Wylie's brother Luke – Tim Henry – is a genuine Norman Bates lookalike! You'll gladly forgive the occasional dull and confusing moments in "Eye of the Cat", as this is truly one of the most curious gems of the sixties.

moonspinner55 Joseph Stefano concocted this rather haphazard suspense yarn about a mercenary young woman in San Francisco who reunites a wealthy, dying woman with her beloved ne'er-do-well nephew in order to get her hands on the inheritance money. The plan gets off to a shaky start after the nephew, who harbors a paralyzing fear of cats, discovers hundreds of the meowing creatures in his aunt's manor. The felines are well-trained, and the film has an OK production and cast, but the story fails to add up. Stefano wants surprises and plot twists, but the scheming people we meet aren't really very exciting or interesting. A couple of shock scenes (particularly a well-staged one involving Eleanor Parker trying to make her way up a steep incline in her electric wheelchair) give the picture some much-needed flair, however the resolution is cloudy and the whole tale ultimately pointless. ** from ****

Neil Doyle Joseph Stefano (who wrote the script for PSYCHO), is responsible for this script which is fine until about mid-point when the story starts to fall apart. He drops the theme of terrifying cats for awhile and then has them emerge once more just for the rather hokey climax.But it's stylishly done. You can feel Brian dePalma's influence on director David Lowell Rich right from the opening montage of cat stalkers against colorful backgrounds. There's a stately elegance to the home of the rich wheelchair bound widow (ELEANOR PARKER), a home where she is presumably being protected by numerous felines roaming around freely. She needs protecting. Seems her hairdresser (GAYLE HUNNICUTT) is scheming with Parker's nephew to kill the woman and get a hold of her inheritance which she threatens to leave to the cats unless she is able to locate her missing nephew.It's a good little thriller with some edge of the chair moments that grip the audience, but none of it seems too plausible with stilted dialog and overly melodramatic moments that seem terribly contrived.For suspense and the compensation of watching Eleanor Parker in one of her latter day roles, it's probably worth viewing. Just don't expect anything on the level of PSYCHO.

General_Cromwell This Hitchcockian horror tale is something of a little gem.A hugely enjoyable romp,which is extremely well made,featuring some scary and horrific moments,but also blessed with some wickedly funny black humour.The performances in the film are good.Michael Sarrazin is enjoyable as the laid back nephew with a cat phobia,and Gayle Hunnicutt is deliciously evil as his scheming girlfriend.Among the films twists and turns theres some great moments,and a nailbiting climax that has *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* Sarrazin in a cat induced catatonic state,and Hunnicutt terrorized by a pack of vicious felines.The film also has the best ever cat-fight in cinema history,between Hunnicutt and Sarrazin's ex-girlfriend.Purrfect!