CAST:
Peter Cushing (Wilbur Gray), Ray Milland
(Frank Richards); Susan Penhaligon (Janet), Joan Greenwood (Miss
Malkin), Simon Williams (Michael), Roland Culver (Wallace); Katrina
Holden (Lucy), Chloe Franks (Angela Blake), Alexandra Stewart (Joan
Blake); Donald Pleasence (Valentine De’ath), Samantha Eggar (Edina
Hamilton), John Vernon (Pomeroy)
PRODUCTION:
Director – Denis Heroux, Screenplay –
Michel Parry, Producers – Rene Dupont & Claude Heroux, Photography –
James Bawden & Harry Waxman, Music – Wilfred Josephs, Music
Co-ordinator – Philip Martell, Special Effects – Michael Albrechtsen,
Makeup – Brigitte McCaughry & Tom Smith, Production Design – Wolf
Kroeger & Harry Pottle. Production Company – Cinevideo/Tor
Productions. Canada/UK. 1977.
COMMENTARY:
Wilbur Gray is an author who travels to see his publisher during the
night. He wants him to print his novel as soon as possible because he
fears he doesn’t have long left to expose the sinister truths behind the
novel. He has uncovered the fact that cats are in fact supernatural
creatures who are really in control and has written three stories, each
he claims are true, in which cats prove to be more than just pets. The
first charts the story of a greedy relative who gets more than they
bargained for, the second about an orphaned young girl whose only real
companion is a cat and the third about a horror actor who kills his wife
but doesn’t count on her cat taking revenge for her.
Horror anthologies were ten a penny in the 70s after British horror
studio Amicus channelled most of their effort into making them. This is
one of the few non-Amicus and non-Hammer British horror films of the
time and it’s quite a refreshing change to see another studio attempt to
muscle in on the genre, even if The Uncanny is mostly
hit-and-miss stuff. It looks reasonably good with some decent sets and
the camera man knows how to use a camera to zoom in for claustrophobic
shots. Like its more famous counterpart studios, here the first job of
the film has already been finished. If it looks good, it’s a solid
start. The wrap around story is excellent though and the cats are really made to look sinister. Peter
Cushing is excellent as always – a little more nervous and paranoid
than we’re used to seeing but it makes a great change. These wrap around
stories usually don’t add up to much but here it is essential and the
three stories actually link reasonably well.
The first one, London 1912, deals with an old woman who decides
to leave her fortune to her cats, much to the chagrin of her nephew who
was originally in the will. But the maid, who is dating the nephew,
overhears the combination to the safe and attempts to destroy the will
so that she can live with him in riches. However the cats have other
ideas. The cats are the ‘stars’ here or at least they should be but
they’re about as menacing as a dead stick insect. A lot of cats growling
and snarling have been dubbed over these cute felines which seem to be
playing with the characters, never mind attacking them horribly. They
even manage to force one character to lock themselves in a pantry and
practically starve them to death by keeping them pinned inside. It’s a
bit predictable but if the cats had been more menacing, then the whole
thing would have been more believable.
The second story, Quebec Province 1975, is about Lucy, a young
girl whose parents were killed in a plane crash, moving in with foster
parents. She brings her cat, Wellington, with her but runs into trouble
when the bitchy step-sister takes a disliking to them both and has her
father take Wellington to the vet to be put down. But that doesn’t stop
Wellington from coming back from the dead and helping Lucy take revenge.
A pretty weak story for the most, this one has some lame acting from
the two young females and some overly nasty bullying just to make us boo
the step-family (think pantomime-esque cheap boo tactics) . However
it’s got a killer ending and one which completely underlines the nasty
nature of the entire piece.
The third one, Hollywood 1936, is mainly played for laughs as
Donald Pleasance assumes the role of a horror actor who is filming a
scene with his wife when the prop blade turns out to be real and kills
her. He switched blades to kill her in an ‘accident’ but her cat decides
to avenge her death. Starting with a great sight gag (we see a photo of
Pleasance as Ernest Blofeld in You Only Live Twice, stroking
the trademark white cat) this one could have been better had it not been
for the insistence to turn it into a comedy piece. There are a lot of
intentionally bad puns like “I twat I taw a puddy tat” which will have
you groaning and wondering what the characters will say next. But
Pleasance is having fun hamming it up as the bad actor and his hairpiece
for his character has to be seen to be believed.
The Uncanny is yet another decent horror anthology from the 70s
which doesn’t set the world on fire but doesn’t fall into the bad film
category either. If you like the oldies like me and don’t mind watching
another horror anthology, check it out.
Link: Here
Images: Marcus Brooks
