Because of the Cats (1973)

Young, rich cats on the prowl for trouble

Well before the shadowy frat club in "The Skulls" there was a little mystery/crime/thriller from Holland in the earlier part of the '70s that shared a number English actors called "Because of the Cats." The story, which was part of a larger series of crime novels from the early '60s, in itself is simple enough, though how it's presented is somewhat elusive and enigmatic--with the audience never sure of where it's going or what's to happen next. In between it gives way to a number of different titillations and shock, to the point of being somewhat edgy for its day for a culture that was still getting used to racy cinematic assaults such as "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection." Our crime fighters weren't always knights in shining armor as the waning flower generation seen.

A gang of young vandals with pantyhose stocking caps surprise a middle aged couple in their upscale home and take turns raping the woman in front of her panic stricken husband. These aren't your normal criminals doing thuggery but instead dress in suit and tie and speak like proper and educated students--as if they're out to a charity dinner instead. An inspector from Amsterdam named Van Der Valk is sent in to investigate the callous crime and from a series of clues gets lead to a click called The Ravens where a share are heirs to wealthy families in the most prosperous area of the Netherlands called Bloemendaal. From there, another group called The Cats are whispered about, along with a rich, well-spoken gentleman who you're never quite sure about under his overly charming demeanor. The inspector is determined to put a stop to them before the crimes escalate beyond control but finds himself with little evidence, oblivious but protective parents and tight mouthed suspects that are bonded to their friends through a secret cause.

The tone is a little jumpy in places: one moment somewhat upbeat and humorous, then in the next atmospheric and serious. The music is somewhat misplaced at times, with a theme song that's akin to a parade marching band with horns and drums. It can be slapped overtop of a scene whether or not the underlying part matches. This is missing some of the heart-racing chase scenes in car or on foot that are a staple to crime thrillers. Though this European film is quite liberal with sex and nudity, whether it be with forceful or consensual, or be it showing full frontal of men and women--more so on the latter. The inspector even drinks on the job and has a good time with a high class prostitute that gives him information that he couldn't have pumped out otherwise--killing two birds with one stone, he's a resourceful guy.

There are a hand full of memorable scenes that make this more than your run-of-the-mill crime story, from a group of women seducing a man in the ocean that includes full body underwater shots, to some scenes of cat carnage where innocent kitties are brutalized for shock value--not for real though! The film has a fairly quick editing style for the '70s when it was common to have more of a looser flow throughout. This is still caught somewhat in between where it has rapid cuts in one area and then becomes unnecessary to carry on with another for so long, especially towards the latter half. Some of the editing is cut so close that it doesn't make this as challenging of a mystery as it could have been. No one wants a picture to hold their hand, but it can dive into the middle of a scene without a sense of direction till sometimes well after the fact. It makes it so the audience are steps behind the detective instead of steadily moving at the same time for more of an engaging experience. This is still largely unpredictable as some of the clues come in the form of red herrings to throw one off.

This came out at a time when traditional religions were questioned and at the same time new factions were forming with experimental ideas and philosophies. This mixes self-awareness practices of body and mind with susceptible, spoiled-rich modern youth in the '70s. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it. They're an anomaly in that they have both responsibility and appear like standup citizens but at the same time are giving in to over-the-top vices at the expense of others. The two require a delicate balance and things can get out of control when it's tipped. In a way it shows how far some youth have lost their morals and scruples when growing up pampered and never having to earn what they were given with blood and sweat. Not to mention the parents have all of the money one could wish but little time to spend with family. The youngsters have no sympathy, regret or perspective to what they're doing. They mindlessly follow their click to be part of something but have no definable future from being stuck in the now. "Because of the Cats" was an interesting take on the crime genre that doesn't include the usual hip, slang spoutin' street thugs.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Fons Rademakers (Village by the River, Mira)
Stars: Byran Marshall
Link: IMDB

Week of the Killer (1973)

Your soup will never be the same

This is a gradually paced Spanish drama on the downbeat side about a man named Marcos who shirks responsibility, whether it be for doing something more with his life or accounting for his own actions. He works at a slaughter factory and lives in a measly residence on the outskirts of town with his brother. He leads a simple life by laying about without his shirt, frequenting the nearby eatery with a waitress that is friendly, as well as running into an acquaintance who walks his dog and lives in the nearby high-rise apartments. Marcos and his steady girlfriend Paula are showing a little public display of affection when out on the town. They take a taxi and the driver midway through slams the breaks and tells them to get out. Marcos refuses to pay and the taxi driver assaults him and his girlfriend. Marcos grabs a nearby rock and clobbers the irate man on his head and they leave. The newspapers reveal the taxi driver died and the girlfriend's conscience starts to grow. She gives her boyfriend the ultimatum of him going to the police or she won't marry a man with a life of lies. In the heat of the moment, he kills her rather than face potential consequences for the action of the first murder. From then on out the dominoes fall faster than he can stop them from spiraling out of control by just killing more and more whenever someone is on to him.

"I know a lot of people who get ill when they see blood. You're not the same way about blood," says a friend after he gets cut and Marcos responds back with, "No, doesn't bother me in the least." The film insinuates that by him working in a factory day in and out killing animals, that he can be numb when it comes to murdering another human being to the point of not even flinching. Even his brother becomes surprised by his actions, which is reason enough to say that his absence of feelings came about later, rather than picking the slaughterhouse job because it's in his nature. Killing one type of flesh is for sustenance and murdering the other is a choice that affects his freedom, though that line starts to get blurred and co-merge with him. He's not just lying and stealing, but something that ends all ties to just anybody but people that care about him. He essentially jumps right into it to protect a life that's somewhat simple, reserved and uneventful otherwise. It makes the picture somewhat gloomy in that there's little to gain from it and hold onto. Despite some protests to stay away, every other person keeps seeing the bodies in his house and he decides to carry the remains in a sports bag only to blend the human remains with animal meat in a grinder at the factory he works at with no one the wiser. Yet, poetic justice wasn't what he expected. Someone has a collective eye on him and the final result of the film is somewhat unexpected but also depressing for those involved.

This had some decent performances, with Vincent Parra doing more physical acting than speaking. The setups are sometimes extended for atmosphere as well as to give the actors some room to breath their roles. The US title "Cannibal Man" makes this out to be just an exploitation film, though it plays on some morals and social commentary of early '70s Spain, with premarital sex, a potential same sex relationship, animal slaughter, murder and how the rich and poor are viewed and treated differently. It gives the movie a little more to think about instead of going for a straightforward experience of the macabre. Though it does show some blood and a little gore, such as the after effects of a clever to the face. There are also real shots in a few areas of a slaughter house with cows getting their throats cut and blood drained all over the floors and then carcasses being split down the middle to divide up the meat. The majority of the deaths have a reason behind them, instead of him going out of his way to hack people up, though the girlfriend's death felt too abrupt and made him out to just have an anger problem rather than other possibly deeper issues. The nudity is just one scene above the waist. The filmmakers made the Marcos character out to be a product of society rather than doing it entirely as an individual. His social status played a role to how the events got so out of control: police believing the rich rather than the poor, someone who cuts flesh all day for the people, doesn't always differentiate when it's being done to people. Though having that perspective for him isn't going to be like "The Bicycle Thief," as he's not just robbing somebody, but committing murder to cover up facing responsibility.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Eloy de la Iglesia (R.I.P. 2006) (Glass Ceiling, No One Heard the Scream)
Stars: Vicente/Vincent Parra, Emma Cohen
Link: IMDB

It Happened at Nightmare Inn (1973)

Button up that dress missy, or else...

(This review is for the Cheezy Flicks DVD version at 67 mins.)

This little Spanish flick is a horror tale that no doubt deals with death and macabre, though "It Happened at Nightmare Inn" is more about morals and beliefs and the length some will go to to uphold them.

Two sisters in a modest and traditional village have a fear of change from the invading counter culture of the times that foreigners are creeping in with. Scantily clad young women strut their stuff to drooling men, as well as others stay out late and are up to the devil knows what. Some old school folks are embracing of this new era, while others just scoff at the idea. Our sisters, on the other hand, feel it's their right to take matters into their own hands with the guests that stay in their inn but don't always check out.

"It Happened at Nightmare Inn" is a flawed movie that asks some questions that still hold true to some parts of the world today even if it wasn't able to flesh out everything it set out to do. The film is only mildly energetic and often anticlimactic with quick and to the point violence, as the story moves at a moderate pacing with more time spent on seeing the sisters' fears and delusions pile up. The filmmakers give us the ol' amateur detective subplot that feels cut and pasted for mystery's sake with a foreign woman searching for her sister that was last seen at the inn. The mechanics involved with translating the story to the screen make one feel more distant than involved to the specific motivations of the whole belief debate. Neither does one care what happens to the woman searching for her missing sibling as she doesn't feel like a grounded character. Some of the hiccups stem from this particular DVD version, which is edited.

Rating: 4/10

Director: Euginio Martin (Death at the Deep End of the Swimming Pool, Horror Express)
Stars: Judy Geeson, Aurora Bautista, Esperanza Roy
Link: IMDB