THE CAT – 88 Films Blu-Ray Review: Lam Nai Choi’s Last Greatest Meows On A High Note

The Cat arrives on Limited Edition Blu-Ray from 88 Films on September 23. Pre-orders are also available for the Standard Edition which releases on November 25. Visit MVDshop.com for more info.

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Lam Nai Choi’s 1991 manga adaptation, The Story Of Ricky, was my first discovery of this particular director, and I’m inclined to touch back on this film in a later piece. For though, we have another in our midst with The Cat, Lam’s 1992 career exit which serves as a hodgepodge of sci-fi, action, and horror which, for what it’s worth, is as comical as it is exalting as a cult classic.

Produced in part by Golden Harvest who released the film, The Cat is based on the Wisely series, a literary body of novels with stories told from the perspective of the titular adventure novelist, to which late author Ni Kuang contributed the lion’s share from 1963 through 2004; Namely, the film follows Ni’s 1971 publication, “Aged Cat,” which Chan Hing Ka and Gordon Chan adapted for the screen.

Told from the perspective of Wisely (Waise Lee), the film follows our protagonist who learns of a disturbing incident involving an old man (Lau Siu Ming), a young Princess (Gloria Yip), and a black cat which happens to be a noble Knight. Following leads from a moving company, Wisely makes a shocking discovery when he learns that the trio are on a mission to save the Earth from a fate suffered by their own planet at the hands of a monstrous alien blob that can possess humans.

What follows is, inarguably, one of the most bizzaro-levels of fun I’ve ever experienced. It’s got all the trimmings of practical 90s Hong Kong production value and gore to match, with a mien that echoes aplenty much of the genre ambition from past directors like Stephen King, John Carpenter and Lewis Teague; To be clear, I didn’t grow up watching a lot of horror, but I did watch some, so when I make nods to films like The Blob or Cujo, I have some idea what I’m talking about.

Lee’s charisma oozes onto the screen as one of his earliest roles, long after debuting in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow. Matching his gravitas is actress Christine Ng who plays Wisely’s girlfriend, whose entrance into the film lands her fresh onto his lap after a sweaty workout before being thrown into their pool.

Actress Yip is an absolute sight for sore eyes as the princess as we follow her and her cat’s efforts to attain a two-piece artifact that can destroy the alien combined with the cat’s own powers. Points go to co-star Philip Kwok who also shepherded the action and stunts on this project, and sharing the mind of a collective creative effort to help craft human bodies falling apart upon contact with an alien.

I will say though that the real star of the film, without question, is the titular feline whose performance – a mixture of training and impromptu hijinks combined with puppetry and stop-motion photography, contribute greatly to the spectacle. At one point, the cat goes toe to toe with a no-nonsense cane corso in a fight scene that gives chase from a museum to a junkyard, whereupon Wisely himself tries and fails to catch the cat.

I do admire the liberties and lengths to which this film goes to just entertain. Watching one character’s blood bleed blue when he’s been shot at, or when we notice that five people have been possessed but only one person leads the terror and carnage campaign, and seeing the blob just inexplicably change the shape and form of its head doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for analysis, but it’s all subjective and unserious, and all the more affirming as acceptable, escapist niche entertainment.

The 88 Films limited edition disc release of The Cat comes with an exorbitant set of extras, all packaged in an O-card slip case and box, and a 39-page booklet with essays by Paul Bramhall and Matthew Edwards, and more.

The movie is presented in 2k restoration from the original negative and a remastered original Cantonese monoaurial soundtrack, and feature commentary by film expert Frank Djeng (New York Asian Film Festival); due to time constraints, I did not listen to the commentary, but I’ve listened to plenty of Djeng’s commentary on previous discs to know that fans are in for a slew of knowledge and history to compliment their purchase of this disc.

Additionally, the 88 Films release of The Cat proffers a two-for-one special adding a low-quality upload of the coinciding Japanese adaptation of The Cat titled NINE LIVES Neko: Nain Raibuzu, directed by Mio Hani, and supplanting the lead actor with Hidekazu Akai in the Wisely role, mingled with a mix of Hong Kong and Japanese actors for the Japanese market. It’s a fascinating watch.

Screenwriter Gordon Chan gets a brand new twenty-minute interview segment to coincide with this film’s release. He begins with a cool little English intro for viewers and continues the rest in Cantonese, discussing the start of his career, his involvement in The Cat along with its writing process and much more. The disc finishes out with a photo gallery and a classic Hong Kong trailer.

Lee B. Golden III

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Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!