Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films,
2018
Images from the Internet
Cat Sick Blues
Directed and edited by Dave
Jackson
Phandasmes
Video / Wild Eye Releasing Raw / MVD Visual
101
minutes, 2016 / 2018
www.wildeyereleasing.com
D’jever
have one of those pals or acquaintances who treated their pet with so much
attention, it seemed a bit... unhealthy? You know, all their Facebook posts are
pictures of them with the critter, or the beastie dressed up in some
inappropriate costume that made you kinda feel sorry for the pet more than the
owner? You’ve probably thought to yourself, they are just lonely and they need
to find the right human person to
connect with, right?
 |
| Matthew C. Vaughn |
Ted
(Matthew C. Vaughn, giving off a Norman Bates/Anthony Perkins meets Eb from
”Green Acres” vibe and look) is just such a person. After his cat walks over
the rainbow bridge (though it’s body is in the fridge’s freezer), he has a
shrine to it in his abode, and oh, by the way, kills women while wearing a cat
mask and a cat-claw glove (references to Freddy K. are bound to turn up); don’t
ask about the giant, spiked strap on dildo… He’s under the psychosis that if he
kills nine people, one for each of the cat’s lives, he can bring it back. Yeah,
Teddy-lad is not playing with a full deck.
As
for Claire (Shian Denovan), her cat is a viral internet star until a sudden and
brutal occurrence. She’s distraught, and it’s only a matter of time until cat
fanciers Ted and Claire are bound to meet. Him with his creepiness and cat
obsession, and her on the verge of a breakdown, they are two unhappy people
with little in common other than Meow Mix and a filled litter box that is
unemptied. Their relationship is more symbiotic than nurturing, but they are
desperate people in need for companionship and comfort in some way, no matter
how unconventional.
 |
| Shian Denovan |
But
these are two very disturbed people in actually very different ways. The path
does not follow the usual Psychos in Love
formula, I’m happy to say, and we are presented with wholly different and quite
unexpected scenarios. Kudos to the writers for that.
This
is almost a horror cyberpunk with Ted adding technology to his own physicality,
doing a Marshall McLuhan by adding to his body parts to make them extensions of
himself (I got me some ed-ju-ma-cation, y’see). What he does with these
devices is kinda what you’d expect if you are a fan of this kind of fare, as am
I, and I’m grateful that the technique used is more strike than torture, in
most cases. I mean, I was wondering if I would have liked the story if he had
used the spikey dildo more often or less… of course I’m not even going to give
a hint, but I was satisfied.
There
are some quite stunning practical SFX in general, especially the head near the
beginning of the film. That being said, the blood was a bit too bright red and watery,
especially in certain cases, but I’m willing to forget that as it was quite
enjoyable to see the gushing. Yes, this is a very graphic and wet film.
My
big issue with the production was, believe it or not, the sound. Even without
the Australian accents (yes, this comes from a land down under… sorry), a bit
of the dialogue is hard to make out with the industrial Nosie soundtrack.
Luckily this is not a dialogue heavy flick, so don’t let that stop ya.
Ted
is an interesting character, especially the way Vaughn plays him. Sometimes he’s
shy, sometimes he quite assured and confident, and other times quite
neurotically out of his league. While not discussed, I’m willing to bet he’s on
the autism scale. But he manages to set out on his goal to resurrect his purr.
That is, when he’s not having grand mal seizures (I know someone who actually died
of this), especially after a kill; perhaps it’s the adrenaline rush that
triggers it. I realize he’s quite a sexual deviant (the story makes that quite
clear), but I was a bit annoyed that all his victims were female, which is a bit
of throwback to the bad part of the genre.
That
being said, I found Claire even more interesting, even if she is not always
likeable. Lovely Denovan plays her in many states of emotions and manic. While
Ted may technically be the main character, I felt the film was more about her,
the way she deals with multiple levels of grief, and how she works through the
pain and fear.
Loneliness
is another key factor throughout the film. Whether it’s the two leads, the
members of a pet grieving group, Claire’s friend (attractive Rachel Rai), or a
fan obsessed with Claire’s cat (Noah Moon), nearly everyone is alone on a substantive
level. Even there is a physical connection between characters, it’s never on a
positive emotional way.
There’s
a nice interplay of reality and dementia, as both our protagonists go through
their situations in various ways. But what struck me the most was the use of
social media and technology throughout the film, be it feel good viral kitty
videos or the dark web’s more sinister side. But what affected me more is how
people are so casual about online (real) violence, and being looky-loos in the
midst of it. The overall technological culture is a mass of sensationalist
headlines and banality of viewing genuine ferocity.
 |
| Rachel Rai |
Extras
abound in this DVD release, so let’s get at it. In no particular order, to
start there is the 10:07 short with the same name from 2013. Also starring Vaughn,
I’m guessing this was part of the Kickstarter campaign to give the investors
some peek of what is to come. A couple helps a masked Ted and he follows them
home to a game of – err – cat and mouse. It could well have been a deleted
scene from the main feature.
Another
short black-and-white short film at 5:03 is “Kappa” (2012). An annoyed guy is
asked by is kinda-slow roomie to watch over some Claymation birdlike creature
in a box. Things go weird and, well, again, I’m not telling. It’s a pretty
crisp looking pic.
Speaking
of Deleted Scenes, there are five of them officially, ranging from a few
seconds to a couple of minutes. I say “officially” because the first one is
kind of a compilation of a few short bits. Yeah, it was good most of them were
excised as they didn’t add anything to the story, but I was happy to see them,
and honestly, there were a couple I would put back in. Take that as a compliment.
Next
up is “Claws and Cat Cocks,” a behind the scenes documentary at a lengthy 35:15,
shot by Lucas Haynes. Very grainy, it is footage of different scenes being shot.
You get the impression that along with the hard work, the crew and cast both
got along and had a bit of fun. Most of the focus is on Vaughn, understandably.
My opinion of the featurette is that it was kinda meh, with not enough cast
interviews or real direction. It really feels like just random shots with no
fixed rhyme or reason other than being there. While I stayed for the whole
thing, I fought the urge to skip around.
Other
than a bunch of nice Wild Eye Raw trailers (including the one for this film), lastly
there are two full length commentaries. The first is with the director (who also
co-wrote), Vaughn (who is also a co-producer), co-writer Andrew Gallacher, and
producer Taena Hoshi. Sometimes too many people on a commentary can get
chaotic, but fortunately they are pretty even, though sometimes it’s hard to
tell who is talking. The comments lean towards the creation, the cast, the
characters and some technical bits, so it’s pretty interesting throughout.
The
second one is more crew based, with the director and Toshi once again, plus
five others. There are way too many to get anything substantive as they all
talk over each other or are too far from the microphone, though you get they’re
enjoying the group’s company. I ended up giving up after the third of nine
chapters, at the 18 minute mark.
Back
to the feature, the word that I’ve seen associated with it is ”surreal,” and
there are definitely moments of that here and there, especially in the third
act. It should be noted, however, that the story mostly follows a narrative, so
the surreal elements don’t work against it. It’s a beautifully shot and edited
film, and while it probably could have used a tad more trimming, it’s definitely
worth the viewing.
The film
doesn’t hit you over the head with any philosophy, but doesn’t shy away from it
either. That’s just part of what makes this a nice entry into the genre from
where women blow and men thunder (dammit!
Sorry again!!).
Extra, unrelated video:
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