Movie: "Cat's Eye"
Year: 1985
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Horror
Directed by: Lewis Teague
Writing credits: Stephen King

Reviewer: -RoG-
Posted: 9/7/2009

Plot: A stray cat connects three different stories in this horror anthology written by Stephen King.

Review: It's no secret that I'm a big fan of classic horror anthology films, and "Cat's Eye" is one that I never felt got enough credit. True, it is a fairly short one, having only three stories, but each tale is written by Stephen King so that alone should help convince you it's worth seeing. There are quite a few references to his works in the film as well, including a nice opening segment where the titular cat is being chased by Cujo the dog, which is then almost hit by Christine the car. Each of the three stories in the film are connected by a cat which wanders into them, but it plays more of a role of an observer for a while and doesn't truly get involved until the final tale, which I'll get to in a bit.

The first story is called "Quitters, Inc." stars James Woods as Dick Morrison, a smoker determined to kick the habit. Unfortunately, he's too weak to do it on his own, so he goes to a company to help him quit. What he doesn't realize is that this company is more like the mafia in their methodology, resorting to radical extremes to get the job done. In a nutshell, the company has people watching Dick's every move, and if he tries to sneak a smoke at any point, it may cost him and his family more than he ever imagined.

The next segment entitled "The Ledge" stars Robert Hays as Johnny Norris who had an affair with the wife of a powerful man by the name of Cressner (Kenneth McMillan). Instead of simply killing Johnny, Cressner decides to make him walk around the ledge of the towering skyscraper he lives in. He tells Johnny he can have anything he wants if he can make it all the way around. Of course, he's not going to make things easy for Johnny as he cautiously makes his way around the ledge of the high-rise. Definitely a solid story here which reminded me of something you'd see from Hitchcock.

The final story "The General" is probably the one most people remember as it centers around the cat who is out to save a young girl, played by Drew Barrymore, from a troll that lives within her walls. This nasty little troll likes to hop up on her bed and steal her breath while she sleeps at night. The cat comes into her room and she names him "General", but her mom hates cats and sends General off to the pound to be put to sleep. Now it's up to general to make his way back in time to save the girl from the troll. I should add that both the troll and the cat are voiced by the one and only Frank Welker.

It's definitely not a highly bloody or gory horror anthology film such as Creepshow, but Cat's Eye has a really nice blend of comedy and suspense which make it quite a memorable little collection of tales fit for any Halloween party. Check it out if ya haven't already.

Also, some fun trivia for ya: James Woods actually quit smoking after he finished filming the "Quitters, Inc." segment of this film. If only Stephen King could help everybody quit...

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)