By DR. BENNY GRAVES
Starring Florence Guerin, Caroline Munro and Michele Soavi
Written and directed by Luigi Cozzi
Released on Blu-Ray by Severin Films
So, you’re interested in watching THE BLACK CAT? Well, first we need to clarify a few things. This is not Lucio Fulci’s The Black Cat from 1981, which also has loose ties to the Edgar Allen Poe Story. In fact, this movie was originally intended as the third entry in Dario Argento’s “Three Mothers Trilogy,” officially consisting of Suspiria, Inferno and Mother of Tears, but has more of a meta-connection. While it was marketed as Demons 6: De Profundis, it has no connection to Lamberto Bava’s 1985 film or its sequels. Now, if you’ll refer to this Pepe Silvia-esque yarn board for further clarification you’ll see that…
If you’ve met enough horror nerds, you’ve heard some iteration of the above paragraph explained with po-faced seriousness. (Or is it Poe-faced?) However, I am not here to unpack the extremely convoluted origins of this flick. This movie should not be consumed as a continuation of Argento’s legendary tales or cinematic witchery, nor do I think it needs to be dissected in terms of its meta-textual implications. THE BLACK CAT rules because it is a certifiably bonkers gore-drenched, neon mind-melt.
Anne Ravenna (Florence Guerin, who looks a ton like Rachel Weisz) is an actress working on a Giallo called The Black Cat. (Cemetery Man director and Demons actor Michelle Soavi cameos as the in-movie director.) Her writer husband, Marc (Urbano Barberini) is writing a new script that happens to be a sequel to Dario Argento’s Suspiria. This screenplay centers on the ancient tome Suspiria De Profundis, dealing with the evil witch Levanna and her attempt to take control of the world. Marc plans to have Anne play the role of Levanna, but things take a turn for the supernatural when the real Levanna attempts to enter Anne’s world. What follows is a battle of cosmic implications between Anne and Levanna that blurs the lines of reality. At least I think it does.
With THE BLACK CAT, Luigi Cozzi offers up the horror equivalent of an acid trip. Levanna appears as a shrouded figure with glowing eyes, whose face is gridded with pustules. At one point, writhing maggots are superimposed over her face, suggesting she contains a universe of pestilence. As the protagonists attempt to stop Levana, her retribution is swift, violent – and totally lacking narrative consistency. One character has both her heart and brain graphically implode for attempting to intervene. Another is discovered to have been a pawn in Levanna’s plan all along, his undead body, torn open to expose pulsing organs and blood-stained bones, still functioning. Anne bears the brunt of Levanna’s wrath, suffering nightmarish visions while also periodically seeing a girl holding a glowing orb. We later find out is a benevolent fairy… There is imagery of a fetus overlaid with stars and a shot of the moon’s surface, inferring a cosmic connection to these events that is never explained. All of this insanity is soaked in neon and punctuated by countless laser effects and a soundtrack of synths and driving heavy metal (including a track by eighties glam metallers Bang Tango).
Do yourself a favor and pick up the gorgeous Blu-ray release by Severin Films, which does true justice to the elaborate visuals of this fever dream. Yes, Suspiria is an unparalleled work of technicolor horror, one of the best gourmet genre meals you’ve ever had. However, THE BLACK CAT is what happens when you put waffle fries on a pizza after getting a little stoned. You can’t put a price on that kind of brilliant madness.
Death to false horror,
Dr. Benny Graves
