The Black Cat is directed by Lucio Fulci and is based on the Edgar Allen Poe story of the same name. The Black Cat sees Patrick McGee star as a cranky old medium Robert Miles. Miles has the ability to possess a black cat, and have it do his bidding and murder people he believes have wronged him. When the murders start to increase it's down to American tourist Jill Travers (Mimsy Farmer) and Scotland Yard Police Inspector Gorley ( David Warbeck) to find out what/who is causing these strange murders to happen.The Black Cat, is regarded as one of Fulci's lesser films, which is a bit unfair, as this film does have some good things going on. Firstly the restoration from Arrow Video is gorgeous to look at as always. The film has an excellent moody tone to it. As-well the kills and practical effects are well constructed, the fact that Fulci made a killer cat feel wholly believable is no small feat.The standout performer in this film is Patrick McGee, his haunting presence and piercing glares, help sell his off kilter character. Even when the screenplay makes absolute no sense. Unfortunately the rest of the cast are barley given any material to work with. Which in turn makes their characters feel slightly dull and forgettable, despite them all giving decent performances.The biggest issue this film has is the screenplay, at its best the script is nonsensical. Huge plot threads are unceremoniously dropped with no payoff or resolution given. We're also never given a reason as to why or how Miles is controlling the cat. Or if it's the other way round. There are other inconsistencies littered through-out the film, which makes the film frustrating to follow.However with the stylish direction from Fulci, Pino Donaggio's fabulous score, as-well as committed performances from the cast, they help to elevate a lacklustre and inconsistent script.

The Black Cat (Lucio Fulci 1981)This film is badass!! A cat on the prowl, seen from it's perspective, what could be better than that? And Jill Trevers is pretty cool, too. I like her character a lot. I liked her hair, she has very nice blonde hair. In the boat house, I kind of wonder why the air conditioner would be working in such an old boat house. They like to neck, I get that. Why Fulci chose to do it like this is beyond me. How does the air conditioner break anyways? There are a lot of jump cuts and stuff that are symbolic of old 70's slasher films. I mean this cool. With these type of movies. We see the group of teens wander into the woods. And the ones having sex are always the ones who get it. Fulci adds this into this film in a clever way. The screeching music in this film sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't. I'm not complaining or anything, I just think, for instance, when Prof. Robert Miles is running his field tests in the cemetery, this could've been better. It seems more like hallway music to me. Somebody walking down a hallway, or something like that, and maybe a jump scare here or there, yeah.... I wondered if The Black Cat had rabies.? Lot of questions left unanswered in this film. Like why does Fulci always use these angle shots of the eyes? And where is everyone? In 1981, there would be tourists still out and about, walking the street. Though I don't get what year it is in this film. Inspector Gorley is a trip though man. I thought he was drunk by how stupid his questions were. Aside from that there is a moment of clairvoyance when Jill is taking some pictures. And this element I like. Skipping ahead still, I'm not sure who was driving that boat, but that was a terrible docking. I would have liked a close up of the cockpit of the boat. Are there cans of Budweiser? Are they smoking? We hear the scream in the dock-house, but then Fulci jump cuts to Prof. Miles. Why now? He should leave the scream going longer. And show one of the people calming her. I understand that seeing what she saw in there would've been frightening, I mean I would've been shitting my pants too, but yeah. C'mon man!! A bunch of officers and gentleman, they are like, ugh, what do we do now? So, the cat broke the ventilator upon entering? Okay, I need more detail here. This quickly turns into a mystery novel. Another thing I don't understand. No smoke detectors, huh.... Did they not believe in fire detectors in this point in time. Some of the best filming ever, though, during the fire scene. Accolades to Fulci. And what this film lacked, despite it being suffering from clear editing mistakes, makes up for it in this one highly awesome take. Some of these scenes would've worked well in William Freidkin's (The Exorcist, 1973). Mainly, the bedroom scene from this film. I think I'd be more afraid if I cut and pasted the demon and added it into this film, just because it is a darker atmosphere. And the objects look raw and gritty. So I like that in a film. Like Prof. R. Miles would've made a great Dr. Brown from Back to the Future, but that is besides the point. I like how Jill is able to speak her mind in this film. And Inspector Gorley... I mean he had it coming. There is this element of surprise in Fulci's films. In this one he takes a Poe story and gives his own take on it. So he fills that element of surprise with this cool mind controlling bit. And it works. I wanted to know more about Jill. Why did she decide to get a dream job in art, and who pays her. Fulci never really mentions the company she works for. So, we don't know. The music in this film is almost identical to Toby Hooper's Salem's Lot. Especially towards the end. I'm wondering why Jill doesn't get rabies from the bats. Cool film!! Definitely a win win!!

I Thought that The Black Cat was a good Italian horror directed by Lucio Fulci. The film is about Strange things that are happening in a small English village. It all starts when a man driving a car suddenly notices a strange black cat in the back seat of his car. The cat suddenly stares at the man and causes the man to crash his car into a lamp post, killing him.The black cat then walks off back to its home, which is an old house which is owened by Robert Miles (Patrick Magee), Robert is a former college professor of the supernatural and he is also a medium and he lives alone except for his black cat. He spends his time making audio tape recordings at the tombs of people who have recently died. He uses the cat on his enemies. suddenly a photographer who works for the local constables begins to notice cat scratches on some of the accident victims. I Thought that this was a good horror Lucio Fulci who has made a lot of good horror films. RECCOMMENED.

When a film by this title turned up on Cable TV, I hoped it would be the Fulci version; actually, it was Luigi Cozzi's 1989 stab at the venerable Edgar Allan Poe short story - which I then missed (and now regret having done so, after recently watching Cozzi's fine giallo THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN [1975]). Anyway, even if by the early 80s Fulci was well into his "gorehound" days, this loose adaptation of the much-filmed classic is a generally restrained affair - and all the better for it.Following a less than promising start (with a teenage couple shacking up in a remote cabin), the film settles down to being an atmospheric and fairly interesting psychological thriller (it's neither giallo nor straight horror) with slick cinematography by Sergio Salvati and a fine score by Pino Donaggio. The humans-threatened-by-a-feline plot recalls Hammer Films' THE SHADOW OF THE CAT (1961) and Roger Corman's THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (1964; based on another Poe tale); actually, Corman had filmed "The Black Cat" as part of his compendium TALES OF TERROR (1962) and, interestingly enough, Fulci borrowed the ending from it for his film - though the director's earlier giallo THE PSYCHIC (1977) had already featured a similarly claustrophobic finale (besides, here he revamped the attack-by-bats from his own A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN [1971])! The familiar cast is well chosen: Italian horror regulars Mimsy Farmer, David Warbeck and (a plumper-than-usual) Dagmar Lassander are okay - but the film belongs to nominal star Patrick Magee (in one of his last roles), whose distinctive voice (making the English-language soundtrack, for once, the version of choice - not that I had any!) and intense countenance (particularly when engaged in his mediumistic activities and the ongoing battle of wits with the sinister title creature) are enough to enliven any film. The voices and sounds from the beyond which he records with his cumbersome and archaic equipment lend the film an eerie tone, which actually complements the supernatural idea that a cat may be able to control a person's actions or vice versa; still, the poltergeist scene following the feline's 'death' at Magee's hands - with its spirit apparently possessing the room inhabited by the Mimsy Farmer character - is rather baffling.In the end, THE BLACK CAT may not be top-tier Fulci but it's a satisfying, indeed underrated, chiller nonetheless - one that's actually superior to most of his better-known and effects-heavy zombie flicks!