Black Cat (Gatto nero) (1981)

30% of users liked it
(485 ratings)

Italian goremeister Lucio Fulci applies his characteristic touch to the Edgar Allan Poe tale (of which very little remains intact) to tell the story of a deranged, wheelchair-bound English psychic (Patrick Magee) who can record the voices of the dead on tape, and apparently possesses the ability to… More Italian goremeister Lucio Fulci applies his characteristic touch to the Edgar Allan Poe tale (of which very little remains intact) to tell the story of a deranged, wheelchair-bound English psychic (Patrick Magee) who can record the voices of the dead on tape, and apparently possesses the ability to channel evil spirits into the body of his cat -- which he then commands to take vengeance on his enemies. When a freelance crime photographer (Mimsy Farmer) notices traces of feline claw-marks on the bodies of accident victims, her own investigations eventually lead her to Magee's naughty kitty... leading to a confusing climax wherein it is learned (sort of) who's really in charge. Remarkably restrained horror from the man behind such flesh-rending epics as Zombie and The Gates of Hell, this is also nearly incomprehensible, possessing a nightmarish lack of cohesion that is more irritating than frightening. In fact, the most horrifying thing about this film is Fulci's aggressive tendency to shoot super-tight widescreen close-ups of Magee's eyes and nose. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Lucio Fulci
Written By: Lucio Fulci, Edgar Allan Poe IV
Genres: Horror, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Apr 4, 1981 Wide
On DVD: Sep 1, 2005

Critic Reviews

Lucius Gore, ESplatter
This is a decent Fulci film, delivering all the sleaze and some of the splatter you can expect from the Italian goremeister.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...much of the film consists of long, interminable sequences in which not much happens...
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Even for a Fulci film, this is pretty lame.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
All the evil cat really does is what cats ever do: slink around looking suspicious, scratch people, disappear, yowl balefully, and do as they're told not to.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Tim S

I gotta be honest and say that if Patrick Magee hadn't been in this, this might've missed a half star - possibly a whole star. This is not one of Fulci's best. It has some nice qualities, but overall, just feels really silly and contrived. If you're looking for… More
I gotta be honest and say that if Patrick Magee hadn't been in this, this might've missed a half star - possibly a whole star. This is not one of Fulci's best. It has some nice qualities, but overall, just feels really silly and contrived. If you're looking for gore, you'll only find one good reason to see this. The film doesn't really play as a fun horror film, which I think is its main problem. If it didn't take itself so seriously, it might fare a little better. As is, it just feels tired.
Ryan M

2.1/10 Lucio Fulci possesses this amazing, fascinating, one-of-a-kind ability to take gore, something that is meant to entertain, and make it just-plain boring. It's like if you've seen one of this guy's movies, you have seen them all. Frequently silly,… More
2.1/10 Lucio Fulci possesses this amazing, fascinating, one-of-a-kind ability to take gore, something that is meant to entertain, and make it just-plain boring. It's like if you've seen one of this guy's movies, you have seen them all. Frequently silly, under plotted, and brainless; Fulci just keeps getting worse and worse, as it would seen. Maybe half of his filmography shouldn't have made it anywhere outside of his home-land after all; I mean, I can live without movies like "The Beyond", which was poorly written and not quite as surreal as I expected it to be, and worst of all, borderline pretentious. I like films like "Don't Torture a Duckling" and "Zombie", but this; this is just absurd. The film I'm talking about is "The Black Cat", Fulci's adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's story of the same name. I suppose it's loosely based on Poe's literary tale; but none the less, it's not a completely original work, and it shows. The movie just sucks, and that's pretty much it. I wouldn't watch it, and I can't imagine who would. It's boring, tedious, lame, goofy, and forgettable. It has some style, but what's style without substance or artistry? Fulci is no artist; and he never will be. His films aren't surreal, artistic, or particularly interesting more than half of the time. I've disliked nearly everything I've seen out of this guy, and "The Black Cat" is one of his worst flicks yet. So basically a cat is being possessed by lost souls courtesy of its master, a psychic, to murder people by scratching them, sending them hurling towards their even more unfortunate death. If you like that kind of stuff as far as gory deaths go, then "The Black Cat" is the movie for you. On the other hand, if you want a movie that has a story to tell, or has any REAL substance whatsoever, then you may want to look elsewhere. I have no problem with the Lucio Fulci fans of the world enjoying the film, for it was made specifically for them, but I hate how the guy's a filmmaker who thinks his audience is full of idiots. We are not idiots, or at least, a good amount of us aren't. To its credit, the gore scenes are pretty mediocre, but as I mentioned earlier, they still bored me to death. Fulci lived for his fans, the kind who liked what he did, but that doesn't mean that all his works are respectable. I suppose I don't mind Lucio Fulci's body of work, as he enjoyed making these mediocre-to-just-plain-awful gore flicks, but I'm no gorehound, but I do like horror films, and "The Black Cat" has a distractingly bad sense of style, and an even worse lack of storytelling skills. There's nothing to see here. Just like there was nothing to see from "Manhattan Baby" or "The New York Ripper". Move along, people.