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Lucio Fulci, eh? What a lad he was. After years of being
labelled so many bad names due to his excessive gore and women
being sliced and killed in many inventive ways, its almost like
he decided, after a run of low budget diminutive flicks, to
throw everything at the viewers and critics alike. You said I
use too much gore? Here's loads! Want to see me slaughter less
women? Hows about I kill some close-up and brutally? In fact,
why don't I take scenes of murder from prior films I did in my
twilight years, along with some I was associated with, and just
select blood red sick moments? Happy? Well, I am!
Lucio uses every part of his blood ammo dump in a tale about a
director of horror flicks (himself, played by... erm, himself)
who is finding it harder and harder to separate his fantasy
world of chillers from reality itself. Cat in the Brain,
a.k.a. Nightmare Concert, was once a holy grail to
Italian gory pot-boiler collectors, but on first viewing seems
to be a mishmash patchwork quilt of ideas burning out fast,
pointless moments, and an ending which defies belief after the
long attempt to create a giallo murder mystery.
However, two possible reasons exist for this film. Firstly,
Fulci had exhausted his efforts and had given up trying to
please fans plus make money (let's take into perspective, it
wasn't long afterwards that Dario Argento lapsed into similar
expeditions which failed. Secondly, Fulci didn't give a toss
anymore! He wanted to explode a crazy blood-ball into everyone's
faces -- damn the consequences! Handling the gallons of gruel is
veteran artist, Giuseppe Ferranti, who has worked on such
crazies as Nightmare City, Zombies: the Beginning,
Voices From Beyond, Cannibal Ferox, Zombie Creeping
Flesh, Demonia, Scalps, Touch of Death,
and so many more.
Lucio Fulci, the actor, hadn't truly been able to shine
previously. Appearances in a majority of his creations as a
police captain, a reporter, an old school gangster, etcetera,
only whetted the appetite of anybody interested in seeing him
perform a meatier role. In truth, Lucio isn't a bad actor. He's
more than capable of holding this up when most of the attention
is on the splatter. Interesting to note that even the Italian
language version has Lucio's voice dubbed by another actor.
Beginning with Lucio writing, we can hear his thoughts;
...someone chopped to bits with a chainsaw. Drowned in boiling
water... A throat torn out by a maddened cat.... As he
continues (...sawn in two, crucified... decapitated...)
we see a cat puppet in his skull tearing the hell out of his
brain as his words slow and speed up like a reel to reel. Cut
straight into the scene of a cannibal (selected juicily from one
of his own catalogue) contently chopping and mincing a corpse
for his pleasure and feast. It's all a movie set which Lucio
stares intently at, giving barking directions (probably nicer in
character than in reality). Breaking for lunch, he finds his
appetite ruined by a plate of minced meat.
Viewing a popping-eye special effect, he complains it just isn't
real enough (which is a hoot and a great dig by the maestro
himself at the lack of budget given to him in later years). He
goes home, exhausted and fed up. Outside a bloke chops wood in a
possibly blood-soaked sweater. This causes Lucio much distress,
especially when he imagines the chainsaw wielding man
approaching him as cries from older films fills the audio. Lucio
wanders the streets and goes to his psychiatrist, Professor
Swharz (David Thompson). We witness before his entry, that his
chosen professional has a huge amount of problems in his home
life.
Next time he's at work, we have a comedy moment as Lucio tries
to explain a character to a young actor. Then it's business as
usual. This time, however, Lucio has to leave the studio What's
the point anymore? he asks himself. Meeting a few VIPs, he
flips out, attacking them. Lucio begins to realise that the cat
in his brain is scratching ever so deeper. His psychiatrist
hypnotises him, saying some very strange things to him as the
plot deepens. Soon afterwards the psychiatrist heads out and
hacks up a roadside prostitute. Lucio is made to believe that
perhaps he himself caused this.
Next up, accompanied by the music from The Beyond, Lucio
hallucinates and sees a scene from an earlier movie... I mean he
sees a graveyard ritual with zombies and stuff. But he's just
walked onto a film set. His team has done the shoot without him.
His assistant explains that he has been acting very strangely. A
director who is replaced by his colleagues! His worst nightmare
comes true. Lucio looks strained. He also convinces himself he
did not murder the prostitute by working out a few things. Yet,
the insane hallucinations persist. They grow stronger.
Unbeknownst to Lucio, Professor Swharz is following him,
murdering people nearby and making sure Fulci sees the results
to plunge him further into madness. The violence is making
me mentally and deeply disturbed... he tells Swharz later
on.
Cat in the Brain,
from new effects to old effects, is just a bloody none-stop
slaughterhouse! It's intended mainly as a comedy, a knowing wink
to his true fans. The film has been unfairly ridiculed by
sometimes his most hardcore followers. It's totally insane and
is so much fun! As for the plot, it's skeletal, only holding
together a string of demented images, truth be told. The ending
makes you smile at its sheer cheekiness and boyish charm of
Lucio Fulci.
Grindhouse Releasing has done a wonderful job on their Deluxe
Edition. The menu is terrific, with its animated cat and Fulci
himself. However, on the extras is a marvellous short film (22
minutes) of the master himself attending the Fangoria Weekend of
Horrors in 1996. He is so stunned by the heroic welcome he
receives and is visibly humbled and moved. As the
speaker/translator says, it is his first visit to the USA and
did not expect all of it. The questions are sometimes so funny,
as are his answers. He is prompt to explain how the directors of
Italian horrors are generally quiet people who make horrors as a
career. He clears up a lot of accusations in his life of hating
women, well, sort of.
Also we have a treat served with lengthy interviews on disc 2.
First the man himself, for 80 minutes as he goes on about his
definition of a horror film, and a thriller movie. Horror, to
him, is real life. Italian films are fantasy thrillers. He
admits the Italians, himself included, recycle a lot of material
over the years. We find he has a lot of ridicule for
psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. He speaks deeply about his
beginnings and his almost career as a doctor.
We then have a 46 minute interview with actor, Brett Halsey, who
featured in some of the scenes in the main feature via chosen
moments from A Touch of Death. To be honest, he's a great
guy, but his voice is so monotone I kind of drifted off sometime
later. Next comes a handful of people from the movie and others
who recall their memories of Fulci. He was a good guy. A
very good director. They are segments from a DVD which is
compiled of memories of Lucio which runs for 90 minutes and
sounds interesting. ...he was a very human man, very kind.
Finally there are previews (from known classics, to the simply
weird!), biographies, and the DVD comes with a booklet. In
conclusion, the release is worth the price alone for the
interviews and the incredible Fangoria Weekend appearance. The
fact that, to me, Cat in the Brain, is a neglected title
in his lengthy lifetime of movies and is worth a watch (or maybe
another re-watch) is just a great topping to the cake.
Yes, Cat in the Brain is nowhere in the same field as his
late 70s and early 80s epics, but it wipes the floor with
Demonia, Voices From Beyond, Murder Rock, and
others for sheer entertainment value. Really it shouldn't be
taken seriously. This is Fulci at his most jovial, made to be
enjoyed by his fans.
Cat in the Brain is also available on Blu-ray from Grindhouse
Releasing.
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