The Cat

The Cat AKA Lo Mau (1992)

Image From IMDB

Hong Kong Cinema from the eighties and nineties is my happy place, and that’s because of movies like Lam Nai-Choi’s The Cat. I don’t even know where to start with this one. It’s absolutely fucking bonkers, and I loved every second of it.

I would try and explain what The Cat is about, and what the Wisely movies are, but it’s impossible… actually, let’s give it a go. The Cat is about three aliens trying to get back to their home planet. One’s a princess, one’s a guardian, and ones a cat. Aiding their attempt to get back home is a writer called Wisely, who’s kind of writing their story while helping them. All while they’re trying to return home they’re being chased by a different alien who looks like something out of Society… but honestly, none of that description does the film justice.

The Cat is a wacky celebration of Hong Kong cinema and practical effects. If you like models, miniatures, puppets, stop motion, matte paintings, optical illusion, and all the rest of the good stuff, then you will definitely appreciate the craft and effort put into the movie, whether you find the story and humour appealing or not. They literally do every trick in the book, and it’s glorious.

The standout scene for every single person who’s watched the movie will be the Cat Vs Dog fight. It’s fucking amazing. Think Freddy Vs Jason, or Sadako vs Kayako, but with a puppet stop motion cat and dog. It’s one of the most creative things i’ve ever seen in my life. It’s funny, brutal, and full of the type of film making that is sadly being forgotten.

The movie also features a man setting himself on fire and lauching himself at an assassin. A Molotov cocktail fight in a home which consists of nothing but books and liquor. Giant alien tentacle type things. Flying cats. Plenty of blood and gore, and a cat turning on a telescope (which for some reason i’m still giggling at now). It’s a visual treat.

Sometimes you just have to experience a film. The Cat is one of those movies that the less you know about it going in the better. And the more you let it do its thing, the more you’ll get out of it. There isn’t much to the story, but there doesn’t need to be. It’s meant to be insane. It’s meant to feel like a wacky nonsensical dream, and it is. The movie wants you to have fun, because they damn sure had a lot of fun making it.

We won’t ever get movies like this anymore, so I appreciate them now more than ever. (And If you liked this movie, definitely watch Seventh Curse and Story of Ricky as well… not sci-fi, but awesome.)