A Cat in the Brain
Encyclopedia
Cat in the Brain is a 1990 Italian
horror
-slasher film
written and directed by Italian horror
filmmaker Lucio Fulci
.
Cat in the Brain has been compared to the horror film equivalent of Federico Fellini
's 8½
, using cynical, grand guignol
humour. Juxtaposing gory horror clips from several of his own past horror films which he either directed and/or produced, Lucio Fulci shot a wrap-around segment featuring his own plot and used Vincenzo Tomassi's film editing (as well as his own voice over) to create the storyline - a personal insight into the effects of horror filmmaking on the psyche.
Cat in the Brain is a tongue-in-cheek horror "meta
" film, examining a filmmakers own self-reflexive filmmaking as well as the larger social and psychological effects of movie violence. According to one reviewer, "You have chainsaws, severed limbs hacked off by different types of weapons, hammer smashed faces (I think that is a Cannibal Corpse
tune), decapitations, melting heads in microwaves, lots of female battery, nazis, strangulation, and more." In other words, a typical Italian "giallo" horror film with all its exploitative elements sprinkled in like Parmesan cheese on top of a bloody spaghetti of found footage.
An uncut, uncensored version of the film was released in North America for the first time on DVD in 2009.
Lucio Fulci (playing himself) seeks the advice of a psychiatrist
.
.
Partial list of films that were sourced:
on the Ryko/Warner Brothers label. The release features never-before-seen interviews with director Lucio Fulci
and star, Brett Halsey
, as well as numerous other extras and bonus material. Liner notes have been contributed by the filmmaker's daughter, Antonella Fulci, as well as acclaimed horror novelist David J. Schow
, and American horror film director Eli Roth
(Hostel, Cabin Fever).
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
written and directed by Italian horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
filmmaker Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
.
Cat in the Brain has been compared to the horror film equivalent of Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's 8½
8½
8½ is a 1963 Italian fantasy film directed by Federico Fellini. Co-scripted by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi, it stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director...
, using cynical, grand guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
humour. Juxtaposing gory horror clips from several of his own past horror films which he either directed and/or produced, Lucio Fulci shot a wrap-around segment featuring his own plot and used Vincenzo Tomassi's film editing (as well as his own voice over) to create the storyline - a personal insight into the effects of horror filmmaking on the psyche.
Cat in the Brain is a tongue-in-cheek horror "meta
Metafiction
Metafiction, also known as Romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion...
" film, examining a filmmakers own self-reflexive filmmaking as well as the larger social and psychological effects of movie violence. According to one reviewer, "You have chainsaws, severed limbs hacked off by different types of weapons, hammer smashed faces (I think that is a Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 1988, the band has released eleven studio albums, one box set, and one live album...
tune), decapitations, melting heads in microwaves, lots of female battery, nazis, strangulation, and more." In other words, a typical Italian "giallo" horror film with all its exploitative elements sprinkled in like Parmesan cheese on top of a bloody spaghetti of found footage.
An uncut, uncensored version of the film was released in North America for the first time on DVD in 2009.
Plot
Haunted by his own bloody horror film visions and with news of real life murders happening in Rome, splatter film directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Lucio Fulci (playing himself) seeks the advice of a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
.
Cast
- Lucio FulciLucio FulciLucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
as himself - Brett HalseyBrett HalseyBrett Halsey , is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He is best known as the original John Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, a role he held from May 1980 to March 1981, before being replaced by Jerry Douglas.-Career:Interested in acting since he was a...
as Human Monster (archive footage from When Alice Broke the Mirror) - David L. Thompson as Professor Egon Schwarz
- Jeoffrey Kennedy as Officer Gabrielli
- Malisa Longo as Katya Schwarz
- Ria De Simon as Sopran (archive footage from When Alice Broke the Mirror)
- Sacha Darwin as Woman in the oven (archive footage from When Alice Broke the Mirror)
Production
The film was composed almost entirely in post-production, assembled from clips from Lucio Fulci's past horror films. The wrap-around segments featuring Lucio Fulci were largely shot in and around Rome's famous Cinecittà Studios, home of master Italian filmmaker Federico FelliniFederico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
.
Partial list of films that were sourced:
- Fantasma di Sodoma, Il (1988)
- When Alice Broke the MirrorTouch of DeathThe Death Touch refers to any martial arts technique that can kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body....
(aka Quando Alice ruppe lo specchio) (1988) - The Beyond (aka E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà) (1981, music only)
Release
The original film was first released in Italy on August 8, 1990. The uncut, uncensored director's cut of the film was released in North America for the first time on DVD on March 31, 2009 by Grindhouse ReleasingGrindhouse Releasing
Grindhouse Releasing is a Hollywood-based cult film distribution company owned by director/actor Sage Stallone and headed up by film editor Bob Murawski...
on the Ryko/Warner Brothers label. The release features never-before-seen interviews with director Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
and star, Brett Halsey
Brett Halsey
Brett Halsey , is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He is best known as the original John Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, a role he held from May 1980 to March 1981, before being replaced by Jerry Douglas.-Career:Interested in acting since he was a...
, as well as numerous other extras and bonus material. Liner notes have been contributed by the filmmaker's daughter, Antonella Fulci, as well as acclaimed horror novelist David J. Schow
David J. Schow
David J. Schow is an American author of horror novels, short stories, and screenplays. His credits include films such as The Crow and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Most of Schow's work falls into the sub-genre splatterpunk, a term he is sometimes credited with coining...
, and American horror film director Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...
(Hostel, Cabin Fever).