Curse of the Cat People (1944)

Directed by Gunther von Fritsch & Robert Wise. Starring Ann Carter, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, Julia Dean, Simone Simon, Elizabeth Russell, Eve March, Sir Lancelot.

Most unusual sequel to the low-budget chiller hit, Cat People, is a children’s supernatural fantasy with the occasional spooky moment, but no offscreen animal transformations to speak of. Carter plays the alienated young daughter of remarried Oliver (Smith) who wishes for a friend, and gets one in the (otherworldly) form of an apparition of Oliver’s first wife, Irena (Simon), the cursed “cat person” from the first film. Atmospheric and psychologically complex, but also elusive and less assured in its storytelling than its bloodcurdling predecessor; one late incident involving Irena’s ghost and one of the little girl’s neighbors is obscure and dramatically unsatisfying. Producer Val Lewton made uncredited contributions to the screenplay. The feature film directing debuts for both von Fritsch and Wise, the latter taking over for the former when von Fritsch fell behind schedule.

72/100