Another Lucio Fulci jam... I've come across people saying this is his masterpiece? The Italian trailer says something along the lines of (I think - I don't know Italian - but I inferred) 'what Hitchcock created, Fulci perfects." That's a bit of hyperbole, right there. But A Cat in the Brain (I like that title more) is certainly a unique vision from the horror maestro. While there is a general framework to the story, it feels like a pretty free-wheeling film. It has that unique Italian craziness you've come to expect, but feels a bit more unstructured. Like it's mostly an excuse to get a bunch of kills onscreen - and also for Fulci to take a crack at being a leading man.
The opening scene is pretty rad. Fulci is sitting at his desk writing, while the camera lingers above him and slowly zooms in on his head. You hear his voiceover, as he is writing in a notebook - just random ideas about violence:
a woman - hacked to death with an ax - her face cleaved in half
another strangled
yet another hanged
someone chopped to bits by a chainsaw
or drowned in boiling water
It goes on for a while. I like to think that that's what his scripts look like. I kid, Fulci, I kid. Anyways, once the credits are done, we go *into* his brain - it's a meaty, bloody mess - while the thoughts continue. Then a cat puppet busts in and starts going nuts, clawing and eating at Fulci's brain, complete with hissing and meowing. It's great, and lets you know right away that realism is not going to be a focal point of the film.
Anyways, the general gist of things is that Fulci feels like he is starting to go crazy - as if all of the horror he's filmed is making him hallucinate horribly violent visions in his non-working life. Unfortunately for Fulci, to try to fix the problem he goes to his local psychiatrist - who happens to be an insane killer! The doctor's plan (which he eloquently lays out totally to himself): he'll hypnotize Fulci to make him zone out and see violence at the doctor's queue. Then, the doctor can actually kill people while Fulci watches, and when Fulci describes his hallucinations the cops will pin the murders on him!
And honestly, while the horror stuff is pretty overwhelming, my favorite part of the film - and surely what I'll think of when I think of A Cat in the Brain - is the killer. This guy:
 |
| you wouldn't want to catch a cold when you are stabbing people to death |
He seems like he should be hosting a pledge drive on PBS or something. And it's hard for me not to love a killer who gets all bundled up like that. Color-coordinated no less!
But the gore is pretty massive in A Cat in the Brain. The set-up (Fulci hallucinating) allows there to be many, many, many unrelated kills onscreen - he sees a man cutting a log for instance, and hallucinates a guy dismembering a woman. A lot of it is pretty fakey looking, but the sheer amount of it is impressive. But it's kind of a blessing and a curse. Some of the violence is so crazy I actually cheered a couple of times, but it also makes the film feel really disjointed - like there isn't really a main story that you're following. The violence sort of becomes the sole reason reason for the film's existence. It's one of the first times I've thought - I wish there was more of a story here. (I'm not very discerning). But it's not super "modern" looking gore - I was pretty surprised to find that it was made in 1990. But a lot of the gore is archive footage... so maybe this was an excuse for Fulci to use his leftovers?
The acting is fine. Fulci doesn't have much of a screen presence, but doesn't ask too much of himself either. But it's not the sort of film where the actors really matter - so they are serviceable in that respect.
The meta-ness of the story is noteworthy I guess, with Fulci playing himself - and a lot of times we have trouble distinguishing between his visions and things that he's shooting. The gimmick doesn't really justify itself (other than getting a lot of gore on the screen), but Fulci has a deep enough catalog that he has earned the right to do something a little different.
But still, the film more or less works if you're onboard with the crazy kills. It's got enough of Fulci's trademark sex and gore to please his fans, but there's more of a sense of fun here than I'm used to seeing in his films. I mean, it's still brutal at times, but the overall tone is a little lighter. Plus, by this point in his career, I figure the man can do what he wants. It's a must see if you're a Fulci fan, but otherwise? It might make you feel kind of weird, but still:
I would recommend this film.
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