I have watched horror films for over 25 years, and I have had cats all my life. Despite this, I had somehow missed the existence of a Milton Subotsky anthology film starring Peter Cushing as a paranoid writer, who believes felines have a plan to topple mankind as the dominant species on planet Earth.
Cushing is Wilbur Gray, a writer trying to convince his publisher of his conspiracy theory. To illustrate it, he tells three tales.
The first is set in 1912 London. A wealthy woman changes her will to leave all her money to her cats rather than her wastrel nephew. Said nephew (played by Simon Williams) is also having an affair with her maid. The cats are having none of it.
The second story involves an orphan girl in contemporary Canada. Sent to live with her aunt, uncle and their bratty child, Lucy brings her only friend, a black cat called Wellington. Bratty child hates Wellington, but the cat has the last laugh, thanks to some awful camera trickery.
The third sees Donald Pleasance as 1930s Hollywood star Valentine De'ath. He does away with his wife by "accidentally" having a film set use a real blade in a Pit and the Pendulum scene. De'ath then bullies his producer Pomeroy (John Vernon) into handing over the role to his halfwit girlfriend Edina (Samantha Eggar). Again, the late wife's cats are having none of it.
Don't get me wrong, this is badly written, filmed, and directed. However, the cast alone makes it essential viewing for trash fiends. Peter Cushing made his fair share of stinkers, but I cannot think of any of them where he is anything less compelling, as well as playing it straight no matter how ludicrous the premise. Pleasance had a comparable mix of duds and dandies, but again, he always brought a compelling intensity, and with this film, a campy sense of humour. In addition, there is the always watchable Ray Milland as Cushing's understandably cynical publisher. He is right to be cynical, as the stories only seem to illustrate that the cats are justified in their behaviour.
