The face of the cat takes a demonic turn in this spooky supernatural thriller which takes a different turn than Val Lewton's two "Cat People" movies from earlier in the 1940's. Troubled doctor's daughter Janis Wilson is plagued with nightmares involving black cats, and has been found walking in her sleep by her father (Ralph Morgan). The use of dreams and fantasy sequences makes this quite memorable and creates quite a mystery. At times, you don't know if Vincent is actually wide awake or dreaming, and the use of this makes the psychological terror very effective, even when the sequences become a little faded, blurry or dizzying. Eduardo Cianelli makes an enjoyable villain with veteran Morgan adding to the suspense as a concerned father who seems to know more than he should about the truth of what's going on. Moody and poignant, this has been overshadowed by the films produced by Val Lewton which it emulates. Perhaps a re-discovery of some of these lost classics would give classic horror movie buffs a new appreciation of the more obscure of which this is one of many.
Review of The Creeper
